WISHING WELL
Grandma’s tale about the Christian country
I go about the house on all fours
On tiptoe I hide in corners
Make believe I’m an old cloak
A broom for sweeping
I stay out of sight this way
Smile at everyone
Even at the door handle I listen to steps
Once I poked my finger into a little pot
Of honey
Voices of trumpets resounded
The last judgment I feel sick
Of love
Objects have teeth and claws
This wardrobe standing open
It’s your mommy and your gran
This chair
They move from corner to corner
It’s gran too
Dearest mommy and grandma
On the day of your hundred-and-first birthday
Two hundred years of life wish
Your son his wife and the grand kids
— Translated from the Polish by Kasia Pilat
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TADEUSZ RÓŻEWICZ (1921— 2014) was a Polish poet, dramatist, and essayist. During World War II, he was a member of the Polish underground Home Army. He is known for his spare, epigrammatic style.
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About the Translator:
KASIA PILAT is a multimedia journalist, writer and translator. Her work has appeared in Paste , Vogue Entertaining + Travel, US Metro, The Prague Post and Svar. She will begin New York University’s Studio 20 Master’s program in new media in Fall 2014.