Dzień Zaduszny / All Souls’ Day

Emily Dickinson

   It was not death, for I stood up,
And all the dead lie down.
It was not night, for all the bells
Put out their tongues for noon.

   It was not frost, for on my flesh
I felt siroccos crawl,
Nor fire, for just my marble feet
Could keep a chancel cool.

   And yet it tasted like them all,
The figures I have seen
Set orderly for burial
Reminded me of mine,

As if my life were shaven
And fitted to a frame
And could not breathe without a key,
And ’twas like midnight, some,

When everything that ticked has stopped
And space stares all around,
Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns,
Repeal the beating ground;

But most like chaos, stopless, cool,
Without a chance, or spar,
Or even a report of land
To justify—Despair

Spróbuj przetłumaczyć / Try to translate it

5 Komentarzy

Filed under Tajemnice "Willi pod Wiewiórką" / The Squirrel Residence's Secrets

5 responses to “Dzień Zaduszny / All Souls’ Day

  1. I wish I could speak Polish, so please bear with me, WM. First, I must admit that this has a touch of beauty. I had to reread the poem a few more times, not because its meaning was hard to comprehend, but because of the refined form of existence the narrator finds his/herself in. Most of all the voice is powerful, bringing to the reader a clear view of a conqueror.

    Do you write poems as well, WM?

  2. WM

    Hi Uzoma. You have presented a shortest but very good analysis of Emily’s poem. Her poetry does not fit into any one genre. I like Dickinson very much.
    I want to say a few words about Polish literature. The most famous writers of all our time are (in my opinion): Wincenty Kadlubek (XII/XIII century: first Polsh writer and chronicler), Jan Kochanowski (XVI century: the real father of Polish literature), Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Slowacki (XVIII/XIX century – the greatest writers of the Romantic era), Henryk Sienkiewicz (Nobel 1904) and Czesław Milosz (Nobel 1980).
    Yes, I am a writer and poet, too. But not very young 🙂 and not popular. My time has passed away. But I will ask my American friend to translate one of my poems into English. Best wishes to you, Uzoma. Write and be famous.

  3. WM

    Errata: „…Henryk Sienkiewicz (Nobel 1905)”…

  4. Hi, I’ve nominated you for the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’… just a shout out to express how awesome your blog is. Details are here if you’re interested: http://85degrees.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/bring-it-on-one-lovely-blog-award/

  5. WM

    I have no words to express my gratitude!

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