Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
Wisława Szymborska
As a short subject before the main feature -
in which the actors did their best
to make me cry and even laugh -
we were shown an interesting experiment
involving a head.
The head
a minute earlier was still attached to...
but now it was cut off.
Everyone could see that it didn't have a body.
The tubes dangling from the neck hooked it up to a machine
that kept its blood circulating.
The head
was doing just fine.
Without showing pain or even surprise,
it followed a moving flashlight with its eyes.
It pricked up its ears at the sound of a bell.
Its moist nose could tell
the smell of bacon from odorless oblivion,
and licking its chops with evident relish
it salivated its salute to physiology.
A dog's faithful head,
a dog's friendly head
squinted its eyes when stroked,
convinced that it was still part of a whole
that crooks its back if patted
and wags its tail.
I thought about happiness and was frightened.
For if that's all life is about,
the head
was happy.