Utopia
Island where all becomes
clear.
Solid ground beneath your
feet.
The only roads are those
that offer access.
Bushes bend beneath the
weight of proofs.
The Tree of Valid
Supposition grows here
with branches disentangled since time immemorial.
with branches disentangled since time immemorial.
The Tree of Understanding,
dazzlingly straight and simple,
sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It.
sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It.
The thicker the woods, the
vaster the vista:
the Valley of Obviously.
the Valley of Obviously.
If any doubts arise, the
wind dispels them instantly.
Echoes stir
unsummoned
and eagerly explain all the secrets of the worlds.
and eagerly explain all the secrets of the worlds.
On the right a cave where
Meaning lies.
On the left the Lake of Deep
Conviction.
Truth breaks from the bottom and bobs to the surface.
Truth breaks from the bottom and bobs to the surface.
Unshakable Confidence towers
over the valley.
Its peak offers an excellent view of the Essence of Things.
Its peak offers an excellent view of the Essence of Things.
For all its charms, the
island is uninhabited,
and the faint footprints scattered on its beaches
turn without exception to the sea.
and the faint footprints scattered on its beaches
turn without exception to the sea.
As if all you can do here is
leave
and plunge, never to return, into the depths.
and plunge, never to return, into the depths.
Into unfathomable
life.
~ Wislawa Szymborska ~
(A Large Number, trans. by
S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh)
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