Wisława Szymborska

“History didn’t greet us with triumphal fanfares: —it flung dirty sand into our eyes. Ahead of us lay long roads leading nowhere,…

— Wisława Szymborska

“Nothing Twice     Nothing can ever happen twice. In consequence, the sorry fact is that we arrive here improvised and leave…

— Wisława Szymborska

“True love. Is it normal is it serious, is it practical? What does the world get from two people who exist in…

— Wisława Szymborska

“We have a soul at times. No one’s got it non-stop, for keeps. Day after day, year after year may pass without…

— Wisława Szymborska

“We live longer but less precisely and in shorter sentences.”

— Wisława Szymborska

“We, too, can divide ourselves, it’s true. / But only into flesh and a broken whisper. / Into flesh and poetry.”

— Wisława Szymborska

“within the four walls of avalanches, I call out to Yeti. Stomping my feet for warmth on the snow the snow eternal.”

— Wisława Szymborska

“Moje znaki szczególne to zachwyt i rozpacz.”

— Wisława Szymborska

“I’ll never find out now What A. thought of me. If B. ever forgave me in the end. Why C. pretended everything…

— Wisława Szymborska

“I’ve wanted to write about them for a long while, but it’s a tricky subject, always put off for later and perhaps…

— Wisława Szymborska

“The Real World' The real word doesn't take flight the way dreams do. No muffled voice, no doorbell can dispel it, no…

— Wisława Szymborska

“We leven langer, maar minder nauwkeurig en in kortere zinnen.”

— Wisława Szymborska

“DESPEDIDA DE UN PAISAJE No le reprocho a la primavera que llegue de nuevo. No me quejo de que cumpla como todos…

— Wisława Szymborska

“The world, whatever we might think about it terrified by its vastness and by our helplessness in the face of it, embittered…

— Wisława Szymborska

“-A Word On Statistics- Out of every hundred people, those who always know better: fifty-two. Unsure of every step: almost all the…

— Wisława Szymborska

“STARI PROFESOR Upitala sam ga za stara dobra vremena, kada smo bili veoma mladi, naivni, ushićeni, glupi, nespremni. Malo je ostalo od…

— Wisława Szymborska

“Whatever inspiration is, it's born from a continuous "I don't know."...That is why I value that little phrase "I don't know" so…

— Wisława Szymborska

“Kucam na vrata kamena. -To sam ja, pusti me. Hoću da uđem u tvoju unutrašnjost, da pogledam uokolo, da te upijem kao…

— Wisława Szymborska

“My apologies to everything that I can't be everywhere at once. My apologies to everyone that I can't be each woman and…

— Wisława Szymborska

“in painted quiet and concentration”

— Wisława Szymborska

“Even if you bar my way, even if you stare me in the face, I'll pass you by on the chasm's edge,…

— Wisława Szymborska

“Four billion people on this earth, but my imagination is the way it's always been: bad with large numbers. It is still…

— Wisława Szymborska

“One more comment from the heart: I’m old fashioned and think that reading books is the most glorious pastime that humankind has…

— Wisława Szymborska

“Letters to the Dead" We read the letters of the dead like puzzled gods -- gods nevertheless, because we know what happened…

— Wisława Szymborska

“ A Hard Life With Memory I’m a poor audience for my memory. She wants me to attend her voice nonstop, but…

— Wisława Szymborska