February 1, 2008

Garden Bloggers Muse Day - February 2008


Possibilities

I prefer movies.
I prefer cats.
I prefer the oaks along the Warta.
I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky.
I prefer myself liking people
to myself loving mankind.
I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand, just in case.
I prefer the color green.
I prefer not to maintain
that reason is to blame for everything.
I prefer exceptions.
I prefer to leave early.
I prefer talking to doctors about something else.
I prefer the old fine-lined illustrations.
I prefer the absurdity of writing poems
to the absurdity of not writing poems.
I prefer, where love’s concerned, nonspecific anniversaries
that can be celebrated every day.
I prefer moralists
who promise me nothing.
I prefer cunning kindness to the over-trustful kind.
I prefer the earth in civvies.
I prefer conquered to conquering countries.
I prefer having some reservations.
I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of order.
I prefer Grimms’ fairy tales to the newspapers’ front pages.
I prefer leaves without flowers to flowers without leaves.
I prefer dogs with uncropped tails.
I prefer light eyes, since mine are dark.
I prefer desk drawers.
I prefer many things that I haven’t mentioned here
to many things I’ve also left unsaid.
I prefer zeroes on the loose
to those lined up behind a cipher.
I prefer the time of insects to the time of stars.
I prefer to knock on wood.
I prefer not to ask how much longer and when.
I prefer keeping in mind even the possibility
that existence has its own reason for being.

By Wislawa Szymborska
From “Nothing Twice”, 1997
Translated by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh


My first post on Garden Bloggers Muse Day started by Carolyn at Sweet Home & Garden Chicago.
Poetry makes life better. Poem is written by Polish Nobel Prize winner 1996.
Picture taken by young Polish photographer Jerzy Tatoń.
I hope you enjoy it.

5 comments:

Sweet Home and Garden Carolina said...

Thanks, Ewa. I did indeed enjoy the lovely poem and photos. I'm glad you joined us on Garden Bloggers' Muse Day.

Philosophical Karen said...

I enjoyed this very much! Thank you.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

This is a great poem. It really gets one to thinking about preferences. Thanks for sharing.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

What a thought provoking poem. I can whole-heartedly agree with preferring chaos over order & dogs with uncropped tails (and ears). I can't say that I prefer leaves without flowers to flowers without leaves - there are so many gorgeous plants that bloom in Spring before they leaf out. (Forsythia, Magnolia)

Ewa said...

Carolyn,
It is great idea to have one day a month at least to think about art - it makes us better and we progress.

Karen,
Thank you for visiting :)

Lisa,
Yes, there is something about this poem - it is very simple and triggers your own thinking unexpectedly.

Mr mcgregor's daughter,
I prefer talking to doctors about something else - isn't it absolutely surprising thought?

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