Even tho' written after the war it can be inspirational to anyone changing a perspective in life.
In
the Midst of Life
by Tadeusz Rozewicz
After the end of the world
after death
I found myself in the midst of life
creating myself
building life
people, animals, landscapes
this is a table I said,
this is a table,
there is bread and a knife on the table,
knife serves to cut bread,
people are nourished by bread
man must be loved
I learnt by night by day
what must one love
I would reply man
this is a window I said,
this is a window,
there is a garden beyond the window
I see an apple-tree in the garden
the apple-tree blossoms
the blossom falls
fruit is formed
ripens
my father picks the apple
the man who picks the apple
is my father
I sat on the threshold
that old woman who
leads a goat on a string
is needed more
is worth more
that seven wonders of the world
anyone who thinks or feels
she is not needed
is a mass murderer
this is a man
this is a tree, this is bread
people eat to live
I kept saying to myself
human life is important
human life has great importance
the value of life
is greater than the value of all things
which man has created
man is a great treasure
I repeated stubbornly
this is water I said
I stroked the waves with my hand
and talked to the river
water I would say
nice water
this is me
man talked to water
talked to the moon
to the flowers and to rain
talked to the earth
to the birds
to the sky
the sky was silent
the earth was silent
and if a voice was heard
flowing
from earth water and sky
it was a voice of another man
by Tadeusz Rozewicz
After the end of the world
after death
I found myself in the midst of life
creating myself
building life
people, animals, landscapes
this is a table I said,
this is a table,
there is bread and a knife on the table,
knife serves to cut bread,
people are nourished by bread
man must be loved
I learnt by night by day
what must one love
I would reply man
this is a window I said,
this is a window,
there is a garden beyond the window
I see an apple-tree in the garden
the apple-tree blossoms
the blossom falls
fruit is formed
ripens
my father picks the apple
the man who picks the apple
is my father
I sat on the threshold
that old woman who
leads a goat on a string
is needed more
is worth more
that seven wonders of the world
anyone who thinks or feels
she is not needed
is a mass murderer
this is a man
this is a tree, this is bread
people eat to live
I kept saying to myself
human life is important
human life has great importance
the value of life
is greater than the value of all things
which man has created
man is a great treasure
I repeated stubbornly
this is water I said
I stroked the waves with my hand
and talked to the river
water I would say
nice water
this is me
man talked to water
talked to the moon
to the flowers and to rain
talked to the earth
to the birds
to the sky
the sky was silent
the earth was silent
and if a voice was heard
flowing
from earth water and sky
it was a voice of another man
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