“Our stockpile of antiquity grows constantly”

—  Wisława Szymborska

"Census"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
Context: Our stockpile of antiquity grows constantly,
it's overflowing,
reckless squatters jostle for a place in history,
hordes of sword fodder,
Hector's nameless extras, no less brave than he,
thousands upon thousands of singular faces,
each the first and last for all time,
in each a pair of inimitable eyes.
How easy it was to live not knowing this,
so sentimental, so spacious.

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Wisława Szymborska photo
Wisława Szymborska 92
Polish writer 1923–2012

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