"You survived because you were the first.
You survived because you were the last.
Because alone. Because the others.
Because on the left. Because on the right.
Because it was raining. Because it was sunny.
Because a shadow fell."
Wislawa Szymborska (b. 1923), Polish poet. "Any Case," lines 6-11 (1948); tr. By Grazyna Drabik and Sharon Olds (1993). Symborska, who has always lived in Poland, wrote a great deal of protest poetry during the Communist era.

"Whether you want it or not,
your genes have a political past,
your skin a political tone.
your eyes a political color.
...
you walk with political steps
on political ground."
Wislawa Szymborska (b. 1923), Polish poet. "Children of the Epoch," lines 6-9, 14-15, translated by Grazyna Drabik and Austin Flint. On Poland during the Communist era. I know that Symborska's first book of poetry was published in 1948, but I don't know whether this poem was in it. In any event, that book was attacked by her government and had to be withdrawn. Neither do I know the date of the translation.

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Justaname Parer (5/14/2005 4:55:00 AM)
Hi,

I have also seen 'Any case' translated like this:

'Could have'

It could have happened.
It had to happen.
It happened earlier. Later.
Nearer. Farther off.
It happened, but not to you.

You were saved because you were the first.
You were saved because you were the last.
Alone. With others.
On the right. On the left.
Because it was raining. Because of the shade.
Because the day was sunny.

You were in luck - there was a forest.
You were in luck - there were no trees.
You were in luck - a rake, a hook, a beam, a brake,
A jamb, a turn, a quarter-inch, an instant...

So you're here? Still dizzy from
another dodge, close shave, reprieve?
One hole in the net and you slipped through?
I couldn't be more shocked or
speechless.
Listen,
how your heart pounds inside me.

Wislawa Szymborska, 'Could have', in View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems, trans. Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh, Harcourt Brace & Company, New York,1996, pp.65-66.

Web pages / more info about Wislawa Szymborska | more resources >>

Wislawa Szymborska - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wislawa Szymborska (pronounced [v?is'wava ??m'b?rska], born July 2, 1923 in Kórnik, Poland) is a Polish poet, essayist and translator. ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wis%C5%82awa_Szymborska

Wislawa Szymborska - Biography
Wislawa Szymborska Wislawa Szymborska was born in Kórnik* in Western Poland on 2 July 1923. Since 1931 she has been living in Krakow, where during 1945-1948 ...
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1996/szymborska-bio.html

Wislawa Szymborska: Nobel Prize in Literature 1996
Press release, biography, Nobel lecture, selected poems, Nobel diploma.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1996/

Wislawa Szymborska's Home Page
Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska awarded Nobel Prize in literature ... biography, links. Wislawa Szymborska collection of poetry in both Polish and English ...
http://www.polishworld.com/wsz/

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