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Adam Czerniawski
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FOR THE MUSES' RETURN
They came
from fields already sated with milky darkness
three of them or maybe two;
they merged with the contours of pines and melodies
and turned the pale afterglow of a somnolent sky
into gusty wind.
I no longer see them
but now read with difficulty:
You are here on 27 July 1991
conscious
though fearful,
record this moment,
note it down.
Time flows in you
falls into waters of unbeing
in which you will vanish;
leave a trace
perhaps someone lost in the evening
will find shelter here;
leave a light
in the window.
Translated by Iain Higgins
Adam Czerniawski, born 1934 in Warsaw left Poland in 1941. His selected poems 1953-1078 appeared
in Poland in 1982. He is internationally a well known poet, participating at international poetry festivals.
and compiled an anthology of modern Polish poets. Publication authorised by the poet.
© Adam Czerniawski
FIRST SNOW
on the first day of our era
on the island of sumiram the first snow fell
patterns of stars covered
the indolent green of the tropical forests
on the island of sumiram
while on the first day of our era
snow was falling on the island of sumiram
the inhabitants slept
while the inhabitants slept on the island of sumiram
snow was falling
when they woke from the cold the snow
had already vanished into the underbrush
some maintain simply that on the first day of our era
a plague and an earthquake depopulated
the island of sumiram
no wonder then
that both contemporary sources
and later traditions
tell us nothing
about the snow
which evidently spared the island of sumiram
IX 1969
Adam Czerniawski
Translated by Iain Higgins
Adam Czerniawski, born 1934 in Warsaw left Poland in 1941. His selected poems 1953-1078 appeared
in Poland in 1982. He is internationally a well known poet, participating at international poetry festivals.
and compiled an anthology of modern Polish poets. Publication authorised by the poet.
© Adam Czerniawski
