You’ve seen the refugees heading nowhere, you’ve heard the executioners sing joyfully. You should praise the mutilated world. Remember the moments wh… - Adam Zagajewski

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You’ve seen the refugees heading nowhere,
you’ve heard the executioners sing joyfully.
You should praise the mutilated world.
Remember the moments when we were together
in a white room and the curtain fluttered.
Return in thought to the concert where music flared.
You gathered acorns in the park in autumn
and leaves eddied over the earth’s scars.
Praise the mutilated world
and the gray feather a thrush lost,
and the gentle light that strays and vanishes
and returns.

English
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About Adam Zagajewski

Adam Zagajewski (21 June 1945 – 21 March 2021) was a Polish poet, novelist, translator and essayist. His poem "Try To Praise The Mutilated World", printed in The New Yorker, became famous after the September 11 attacks.

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Additional quotes by Adam Zagajewski

December, herald of destruction,
takes you on a long stroll
through the black torsos of trees
and leaves scorched in autumn’s fire, as if to say: so much then for
your secrets and your treasures,
the fervent trill of small birds,
the promises of summer months.

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