Tuesday 18 May 2021

 




A Word On Statistics






 Out of every hundred people,


those who always know better:

fifty-two.


Unsure of every step:

almost all the rest.


Ready to help,

if it doesn't take long:

forty-nine.


Always good,

because they cannot be otherwise:

four, well maybe five.


Able to admire without envy:

eighteen.


Led to error

by youth (which passes):

sixty, plus or minus.


Those not to be messed with:

four-and-forty.


Living in constant fear

of someone or something:

seventy-seven.


Capable of happiness:

twenty-some-odd at most.


Harmless alone,

turning savage in crowds:

more than half, for sure.


Cruel

when forced by circumstances:

it's better not to know,

not even approximately.


Wise in hindsight:

not many more

than wise in foresight.


Getting nothing out of life except things:

thirty

(though I would like to be wrong).


Balled up in pain

and without a flashlight in the dark:

eighty-three, sooner or later.


Those who are just:

quite a few, thirty-five.


But if it takes effort to understand:

three.


Worthy of empathy:

ninety-nine.


Mortal:

one hundred out of one hundred

a figure that has never varied yet.”



Wisława Szymborska







Note: The "Luci di Nara"  or "The light of moon" is a sculpture, characteristic of Igor Mitoraj's work. In the photo above, it is installed outside The British Museum (1991). 

Sunday 16 May 2021

  




The Three Oddest Words





" When I pronounce the word Future,

the first syllable already belongs to the past.

When I pronounce the word Silence,

I destroy it.

When I pronounce the word nothing,

I make something no nonbeing can hold. "



Wisława Szymborska





Sunday 21 March 2021

 




Nothing Special




nothing special

boards paint

nails paste

paper string


mr artist

builds a world

not from atoms

but from remnants


forest of arden

from umbrella

ionian sea

from parkers quink


just as long as

his look is wise

just as long as

his hand is sure -


and presto the world -


hooks of flowers

on needles of grass

clouds of wire

drawn out by the wind


·


Zbigniew Herbert






Note: The artwork is a Study for the Head of "Poetry" (1895 - 1899) for the composition "The Apotheosis of Bavaria" by Nikolaos Gyzis.