Parable
Some fishermen pulled a
bottle from the deep. It held a piece of paper,
with these words: "Somebody
save me! I'm here. The ocean cast me on this desert island.
I am standing on the shore
waiting for help. Hurry! I'm here!"
"There's no date. I bet it's already too late anyway.
"There's no date. I bet it's already too late anyway.
It could have been floating
for years," the first fisherman said.
"And he doesn't say where. It's not even clear which ocean," the second fisherman said.
"It's not too late, or too far. The island Here is everywhere," the third fisherman said.
"And he doesn't say where. It's not even clear which ocean," the second fisherman said.
"It's not too late, or too far. The island Here is everywhere," the third fisherman said.
They all felt awkward. No
one spoke. That's how it goes with universal truths.
~ Wislawa Szymborska ~
(Poems New and Collected
1957-1997, trans. S. Baranczak and C. Cavanagh)
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