Good night Marcus put out the light      
and shut the book ["To Marcus Aurelius"]

A tribute to Zbigniew Herbert

(1924 -1998)

Polish poet, essayist, and playwright, known to me only in translation, and now translated bodily. (Died July 28, 1998)
A loss. A great loss. Adieu.

to his poems "A Knocker" or "I Would Like to Describe" or "A Lament" or "Pebble"

if art for its subject will have a broken jar a small broken soul with a great self-pity what will remain after us will be like lovers' weeping in a small dirty hotel when wall-paper dawns [from "Why the Classics"] ~~~~~~~~~~~ mr artist builds a world not from atoms but from remnants [ from "Nothing Special"] ~~~~~~~~~~~ I have no resentment against anyone that I was abandoned [ from "The Abandoned"] ~~~~~~~~~~~

Well Marcus better hang up your peace
Give me your hand across the dark        
["To Marcus Aurelius"]

A Knocker There are those who grow gardens in their heads paths lead from their hair to sunny and white cities it's easy for them to write they close their eyes immediately schools of images stream down their foreheads my imagination is a piece of board my sole instrument is a wooden stick I strike the board it answer me yes--yes no--no for others the green bell of a tree the blue bell of water I have a knocker from unprotected gardens I thump on the board and it prompts me with the moralists dry poem yes--yes no--no

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to top of page or "A Knocker" or "I Would Like to Describe" or "Pebble"

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Lament To the memory of my mother And now she has over her head brown clouds of roots a slim lily of salt on the temples beads of sand while she sails on the bottle of a boat through foaming nebulas A mile beyond us where the river turns visible-invisible as the light on a wave truly she isn't different--abandoned like all of us.

to top of page or his poems"A Knocker" or "A Lament"or "Pebble"

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I Would Like to Describe I would like to describe the simplest emotion joy or sadness but not as others do reaching for shafts of rain or sun I would like to describe a light which is being born in me but I know it does not resemble any star for it is not so bright not so pure and is uncertain I would like to describe courage without dragging behind me a dusty lion and also anxiety without shaking a glass full of water to put it another way I would give all metaphors in return for one word drawn out of my breast like a rib for one word contained within the boundaries of my skin but apparently this is not possible and just to say -- I love I run around like mad picking up handfuls of birds and my tenderness which after all is not made of water asks the water for a face and anger different from fire borrows from it a loquacious tongue so is blurred so is blurred in me what white-haired gentleman separated once and for all and said this in the subject this is the object we fall asleep with one hand under our head and with the other in a mound of planets our feet abandon us and taste the earth with their tiny roots which next morning we tear out painfully

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to top of page or "A Knocker" or "I Would Like to Describe" or "A Lament"

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Pebble The pebble is a perfect creature equal to itself mindful of its limits filled exactly with a pebbly meaning with a scent that does not remind one of anything does not frighten anything away does not arouse desire its ardour and coldness are just and full of dignity I feel a heavy remorse when I hold it in my hand and its noble body is permeated by false warmth --Pebbles cannot be tamed to the end they will look at us with a calm and very clear eye

to top of page or "A Knocker" or "I Would Like to Describe" or "A Lament" or "Pebble"

Another great pleasure is a book of his "essays and apocrypha", Still Life with a Bridle, translated by John and Bogdana Carpenter (Ecco Pres, 1991)

A website with many of these poems, and more is RedFrog - Poems from the planet Earth - Zbign... (http://redfrog.norconnect.no/~poems/poets/herbert.html)
Amazon.com links: Mr. Cogito, poems and Still Life With a Bridle : Essays and Apocryphas, essays by Zbigniew Herbert

For the out-of-print, including his Selected Poems, check out Bibliofind or Interloc.com, both with databases for a consortium of used book dealers. A real gift for readers!

I am indebted to Mark Rudman for introducing me to these poems.
Back to Abby's Workshop: A Haven

http://members.aol.com/Adzey/Herbert.html