Zbigniew Herbert Time Poems
- 1. The Trial
During his great speech the prosecutor
kept piercing me with his yellow index finger
I'm afraid I didn't appear self-assured
unintentionally I put on a mask of fear and depravity
... - 2. What Our Dead Do
Jan came this morning
â??I dreamt of my father
he says
... - 3. The Envoy Of Mr Cogito
Go where those others went to the dark boundary
for the golden fleece of nothingness your last prize
go upright among those who are on their knees
... - 4. The Power Of Taste
It didnâ??t require great character at all
our refusal disagreement and resistance
we had a shred of necessary courage
but fundamentally it was a matter of taste
... - 5. Rovigo
ROVIGO STATION. Unclear associations. A drama of Goethe
or something from Byron. I traveled through Rovigo
n times and exactly at the nth time I understood
that in my inner geography it is a special
... - 6. The Fable About A Nail
For lack of a nail the kingdom has fallen
â??according to the wisdom of nursery schoolsâ??but in our kingdom
there have been no nails for a long time there arenâ??t and wonâ??t be
either the small ones for hanging a picture
... - 7. How We Were Introduced
â??for perfidious protectors
I was playing in the street
no one paid attention to me
... - 8. Report From The Besieged City
Too old to carry arms and fight like the others -
they graciously gave me the inferior role of chronicler
I record - I don't know for whom - the history of the siege
... - 9. Wasp
When the honey, fruit and flowery tablecloth were whisked from the table in one sweep, it flew off with a start. Entangled in the suffocating smoke of the curtains, it buzzed for a long time. At last it reached the window. It beat its weakening body repeatedly against the cold, solid air of the pane. In the last flutter of its wings drowsed the faith that the bodyâ??s unrest can awaken a wind carrying us to longed-for worlds.
You who stood under the window of your beloved, who saw your happiness in a shop windowâ??do you know how to take away the sting of this death?
...
