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A review by lauren_endnotes
Here by Wisława Szymborska
4.0
"And I know what else you’re thinking.
Wars, wars, wars.
But even between them there happen to be breaks.
Attention—people are evil.
At ease—people are good.
At attention we produce wastelands.
At ease by the sweat of our brows we build houses
and quickly live in them."
From 'Here', the title poem of the collection HERE by Wisława Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak.
My second Szymborska poetry collection, and it solidifies her place as one of my must-read poets. This volume, much smaller than my read of MAP last year, but equally impressive.
Her poetry is simple - observational, that kind that elicits a wry smirk rather than a full laugh or a whimper. She's clever. She imagines her parents meeting other people and the children they would have had, perhaps even playing together at recess. She describes the centuries of wear in a Greek statue, only the torso remains.
Other highlights in the collection:
Identification
Absence
Greek Statue
Divorce
Wars, wars, wars.
But even between them there happen to be breaks.
Attention—people are evil.
At ease—people are good.
At attention we produce wastelands.
At ease by the sweat of our brows we build houses
and quickly live in them."
From 'Here', the title poem of the collection HERE by Wisława Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak.
My second Szymborska poetry collection, and it solidifies her place as one of my must-read poets. This volume, much smaller than my read of MAP last year, but equally impressive.
Her poetry is simple - observational, that kind that elicits a wry smirk rather than a full laugh or a whimper. She's clever. She imagines her parents meeting other people and the children they would have had, perhaps even playing together at recess. She describes the centuries of wear in a Greek statue, only the torso remains.
Other highlights in the collection:
Identification
Absence
Greek Statue
Divorce