In the 70s I was in exile; every time I went back I wondered if they'd take my passport away.

An individual voice can be heard in a choir that otherwise sings in unison. This is something that is not excused.

I love life in spite of all that mars it. I love friendship, jokes and laughter.

For me, poetry is a situation - a state of being, a way of facing life and facing history.

Egypt has suffered more ordeals than the other countries to get where it is.

Be vigilant, for nothing one achieves lasts forever.

Real friendship, like real poetry, is extremely rare - and precious as a pearl.