Szymborska, Wislawa

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="http://www.lesdoigtsbleus.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lesdoigtsbleus.com"><U><B><IMG SRC="2d284450.jpg" border=0 width="132" height="69" ALT="LeS dOiGtS bLeUs" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LeS dOiGtS bLeUs Bibliothèque Poétique "><U><IMG SRC="47481460.jpg" border=0 width="129" height="70" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://doigtsbleus.free.fr/play.pls" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://doigtsbleus.free.fr/play.pls"><U><B><IMG SRC="4dc7b280.jpg" border=0 width="123" height="40" ALT="LeS dOiGtS bLeUs Radio" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://doigtsbleus.free.fr/play.pls" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://doigtsbleus.free.fr/play.pls"><U><IMG SRC="4d976400.png" border=0 width="118" height="64" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> écoutez-nous en direct!</div> <div> listen live now!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> <a href="HTMLobj-1192/The_Poet_and_the_World.doc"><img align="bottom" border="0" width="100" height="141" alt="The Poet and the World" src="HTMLobj-1192/szymborska4.jpg"></a>  </B></div> <div> <B>Wyslawa Szymborska won the Nobel prize for litterature in 1996. </B></div> <div> <B>Click on her picture to download her wonderful Nobel speech entitled "</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF6600" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Poet and the World</B></FONT><B>"</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="classiques.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Les Classiques"><U><B><IMG SRC="2cd88180.jpg" border=0 width="136" height="24" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><A HREF="classics.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Classics"><U><B><IMG SRC="2ce4e150.jpg" border=0 width="78" height="21" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="contemporains.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Les Contemporains"><U><B><IMG SRC="2ccb2190.jpg" border=0 width="178" height="25" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><A HREF="contemporary_poetry.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contemporary Poetry"><U><B><IMG SRC="2cfc71d0.jpg" border=0 width="199" height="29" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id213.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ahlberg, Allan"><U>Ahlberg, Allan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id262.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ahvenjärvi, Juhani"><U>Ahvenjärvi, Juhani</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id157.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Angelou, Maya"><U>Angelou, Maya</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id144.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bakhtiar, Shireen"><U>Bakhtiar, Shireen</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id167.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Beatty, Paul"><U>Beatty, Paul</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id266.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boland, Eavan"><U>Boland, Eavan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brooks, Gwendolyn"><U>Brooks, Gwendolyn</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id149.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brown, Sterling"><U>Brown, Sterling</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id169.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bryant, Dana"><U>Bryant, Dana</U></A>   |   <A HREF="diane_burns116.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Burns, Diane"><U>Burns, Diane</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id299.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Burton, Tim"><U>Burton, Tim</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id166.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapman, Tracy"><U>Chapman, Tracy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id286.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Clanchy, Kate"><U>Clanchy, Kate</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Clifton Read, Lucile"><U>Clifton Read, Lucile</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id151.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Coleman, Anita Scott"><U>Coleman, Anita Scott</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Coleman, Wanda"><U>Coleman, Wanda</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id150.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cullun, Countee"><U>Cullun, Countee</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id141.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dashiell, J.M."><U>Dashiell, J.M.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id162.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dove, Rita"><U>Dove, Rita</U></A>   |   <A HREF="stephen_dunn.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dunn, Stephen"><U>Dunn, Stephen</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id192.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dylan, Bob"><U>Dylan, Bob</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id152.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Evans, Mari"><U>Evans, Mari</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id171.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gaines, Reg E."><U>Gaines, Reg E.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id148.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Giovanni, Nikki"><U>Giovanni, Nikki</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id184.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Goldbarth, Albert"><U>Goldbarth, Albert</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id161.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Harper, Michael"><U>Harper, Michael</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id198.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hayden, Chris"><U>Hayden, Chris</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id155.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hayden, Robert"><U>Hayden, Robert</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id154.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jordan, June"><U>Jordan, June</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id288.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Logue, Christopher"><U>Logue, Christopher</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id165.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lorde, Audre"><U>Lorde, Audre</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id153.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Madhubuti, Haki R."><U>Madhubuti, Haki R.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id285.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mansfield, Katherine"><U>Mansfield, Katherine</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id287.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Maxwell, Glyn"><U>Maxwell, Glyn</U></A>   |   <A HREF="roger_mcgough.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mc Gough, Roger"><U>Mc Gough, Roger</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id175.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mc Kenty, Bob"><U>Mc Kenty, Bob</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id275.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meekers, Mark"><U>Meekers, Mark</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id289.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Moore, Marianne"><U>Moore, Marianne</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id290.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rich, Adrienne"><U>Rich, Adrienne</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id176.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Moore, Richard"><U>Moore, Richard</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id273.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Morgenstern, Christian"><U>Morgenstern, Christian</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id163.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reed, Ishmael"><U>Reed, Ishmael</U></A>   |   <A HREF="adrienne_rich.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rich, Adrienne"><U>Rich, Adrienne</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id174.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SaltnPepa"><U>Salt'n'Pepa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id142.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sayar, Keyvan"><U>Sayar, Keyvan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id168.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ScottHeron, Gill"><U>Scott-Heron, Gill</U></A>   |   <A HREF="anne_sexton.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sexton, Anne"><U>Sexton, Anne</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id172.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shakur, Tupac"><U>Shakur, Tupac</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id264.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sinervo, Helena"><U>Sinervo, Helena</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id209.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stevens, Cat"><U>Stevens, Cat</U></A>   |   <A HREF="wallace_stevens.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stevens, Wallace"><U>Stevens, Wallace</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mark_strand.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Strand, Mark"><U>Strand, Mark</U></A>   |   <B>Szymborska, Wislawa</B>   |   <A HREF="id179.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Teasdale, Sarah"><U>Teasdale, Sarah</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id143.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Sugarhill Gang"><U>The Sugarhill Gang</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id276.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vivekananda, Swami"><U>Vivekananda, Swami</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id158.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walcott, Derek"><U>Walcott, Derek</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id156.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walker, Alice"><U>Walker, Alice</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id145.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walker, Margaret"><U>Walker, Margaret</U></A>   |   <A HREF="william_carlos_william.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="William, William Carlos"><U>William, William Carlos</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id170.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Williams, Saul"><U>Williams, Saul</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id173.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wyclef Jean"><U>Wyclef Jean</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id160.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Young, Al"><U>Young, Al</U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id177.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Moteur de recherche Search Engine"><U><B><IMG SRC="4f0234d0.jpg" border=0 width="291" height="77" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> Szymborska, Wislawa</div> <bR> <div> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="on_death_without_exaggeration_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>On Death, without Exaggeration</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> It can't take a joke,</div> <div> find a star, make a bridge.</div> <div> It knows nothing about weaving, mining, farming,</div> <div> building ships, or baking cakes. </div> <div> In our planning for tomorrow,</div> <div> it has the final word,</div> <div> which is always beside the point. </div> <div> It can't even get the things done</div> <div> that are part of its trade:</div> <div> dig a grave,</div> <div> make a coffin,</div> <div> clean up after itself. </div> <div> Preoccupied with killing,</div> <div> it does the job awkwardly,</div> <div> without system or skill.</div> <div> As though each of us were its first kill. </div> <div> Oh, it has its triumphs,</div> <div> but look at its countless defeats,</div> <div> missed blows,</div> <div> and repeat attempts! </div> <div> Sometimes it isn't strong enough</div> <div> to swat a fly from the air.</div> <div> Many are the caterpillars</div> <div> that have outcrawled it. </div> <div> All those bulbs, pods,</div> <div> tentacles, fins, tracheae,</div> <div> nuptial plumage, and winter fur</div> <div> show that it has fallen behind</div> <div> with its halfhearted work. </div> <div> Ill will won't help</div> <div> and even our lending a hand with wars and coups d'etat</div> <div> is so far not enough. </div> <div> Hearts beat inside eggs.</div> <div> Babies' skeletons grow.</div> <div> Seeds, hard at work, sprout their first tiny pair of leaves</div> <div> and sometimes even tall trees fall away. </div> <div> Whoever claims that it's omnipotent</div> <div> is himself living proof</div> <div> that it's not. </div> <div> There's no life</div> <div> that couldn't be immortal</div> <div> if only for a moment. </div> <div> Death</div> <div> always arrives by that very moment too late. </div> <div> In vain it tugs at the knob</div> <div> of the invisible door.</div> <div> As far as you've come</div> <div> can't be undone. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="lot_s_wife_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Lot's wife</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> And the just man trailed God's shining agent,</div> <div> over a black mountain, in his giant track,</div> <div> while a restless voice kept harrying his woman:</div> <div> "It's not too late, you can still look back </div> <div> at the red towers of your native Sodom,</div> <div> the square where once you sang, the spinning-shed,</div> <div> at the empty windows set in the tall house</div> <div> where sons and daughters blessed your marriage-bed." </div> <div> A single glance: a sudden dart of pain</div> <div> stitching her eyes before she made a sound . . .</div> <div> Her body flaked into transparent salt,</div> <div> and her swift legs rooted to the ground. </div> <div> Who will grieve for this woman? Does she not seem</div> <div> too insignificant for our concern?</div> <div> Yet in my heart I never will deny her,</div> <div> who suffered death because she chose to turn. </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>