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AMONG THE MULTITUDES
I am who I am.
A
coincidence no less unthinkable
than any other.
A
coincidence no less unthinkable
than any other.
I could have
different
ancestors, after all.
I could have fluttered
from another
nest
or crawled bescaled
from under another tree.
different
ancestors, after all.
I could have fluttered
from another
nest
or crawled bescaled
from under another tree.
Nature's wardrobe
holds a
fair
supply of costumes:
Spider, seagull, field mouse.
each fits
perfectly right off
and is dutifully worn
into shreds.
holds a
fair
supply of costumes:
Spider, seagull, field mouse.
each fits
perfectly right off
and is dutifully worn
into shreds.
I didn't get a choice
either,
but I can't complain.
I could have been someone
much less
separate.
Someone from an anthill, shoal, or buzzing swarm,
an inch of
landscape tousled by the wind.
either,
but I can't complain.
I could have been someone
much less
separate.
Someone from an anthill, shoal, or buzzing swarm,
an inch of
landscape tousled by the wind.
Someone much less
fortunate,
bred for my fur
or Christmas dinner,
something swimming
under a square of glass.
fortunate,
bred for my fur
or Christmas dinner,
something swimming
under a square of glass.
A tree rooted to the
ground
as the fire draws near.
ground
as the fire draws near.
A grass blade trampled by a
stampede
of incomprehensible events.
stampede
of incomprehensible events.
A shady type whose
darkness
dazzled some.
darkness
dazzled some.
What if I'd prompted only
fear,
loathing,
or pity?
fear,
loathing,
or pity?
If I'd been born
in the
wrong tribe
with all roads closed before me?
in the
wrong tribe
with all roads closed before me?
Fate has been kind
to me
thus far.
to me
thus far.
I might never have been
given
the memory of happy moments.
given
the memory of happy moments.
My yen for
comparison
might have been taken away.
comparison
might have been taken away.
I might have been myself
minus amazement,
that is,
someone completely different.
minus amazement,
that is,
someone completely different.
~ Wislawa Szymborska
~
~
(Poems New and Collected
1957-1997,
trans. by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare
Cavanagh)
1957-1997,
trans. by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare
Cavanagh)
