Museum

WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA TRANSLATED BY AGNIESKA SALSKA MUSEUM Plates but no appetite. Wedding rings but love has been gone for at least three hundred years. Here's a fan — where is blush? There are swords — where is wrath? And the lute strikes no cord at twilight. Ten thousand pieces were gathered here to substitute for eternity. A guard grown mossy sleeps in bliss over a case you shouldn't miss. Metal, clay and a bird feather quietly triumph over time and weather. Only the hairpin lost by an Egyptian giggler giggles merrily. Crown outlived head. Hand lost to glove. Right shoe prevailed over leg. Myself?Believe me, still alive, still racing my old dress. And dress is such a stubborn thing. How it would love to win the race! 43 ...