“We are a poor people, much afflicted.
We camped under various stars,
Where you dip water with a cup from a muddy river
And slice your bread with a pocketknife.
This is a place accepted, not chosen.”

— Czeslaw Milosz

"It Was Winter" (1964), trans. Czesław Miłosz, Robert Hass, Robert Pinsky and Renata Gorczynski
Bobo's Metamorphosis (1965)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 8, 2021. History

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Czeslaw Milosz106

Polish, poet, diplomat, prosaist, writer, and translator 1911–2004

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“We are a poor people, much afflicted.We camped under various stars,Where you dip water with a cup from a muddy riverAnd slice your bread with a pocketknife.This is a place accepted, not chosen.”

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Czeslaw Milosz106

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“We are a poor people, much afflicted.
We camped under various stars,
Where you dip water with a cup from a muddy river
And slice your bread with a pocketknife.
This is a place accepted, not chosen.”