Remembering Mahmoud Darwish and Isaac Hayes

Darwish passed away over the weekend due to complications from open heart surgery. He was seen as the soul of the Palestinian people. For years he had been critical of Israel, which meant he was controversial even among Palestinians. His poems got to the universality of what it means to have a homeland, and cut through the divisions in Middle Eastern society. Another soulful man also died this weekend, Isaac Hayes. The theme from �Shaft� was an influential song in the soul genre. Isaac Hayes died yesterday at the age of 65.