Foundation within Might
...there was too much of Lvov, and now/
there isn't any, it
grew relentlessly/
and the scissors cut it...along the line
and through the fiber...and trees/
fell soundlessly, as in a jungle/
and the cathedral trembled, people bade
goodbye/
without handkerchiefs, no tears, such a dry/
mouth, I won't see you
anymore, so much death/
awaits you, why must every city/
become Jerusalem and every man a Jew,/
and now in a hurry
just/ pack, always, each day,/
and go breathless, go to Lvov,
after all it exists, quiet and pure as/
a peach. It is
everywhere.
~ from "To Go to Lvov" by Adam Zagajewski
...there was too much of Lvov, and now/
there isn't any, it
grew relentlessly/
and the scissors cut it...along the line
and through the fiber...and trees/
fell soundlessly, as in a jungle/
and the cathedral trembled, people bade
goodbye/
without handkerchiefs, no tears, such a dry/
mouth, I won't see you
anymore, so much death/
awaits you, why must every city/
become Jerusalem and every man a Jew,/
and now in a hurry
just/ pack, always, each day,/
and go breathless, go to Lvov,
after all it exists, quiet and pure as/
a peach. It is
everywhere.
~ from "To Go to Lvov" by Adam Zagajewski
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