Photo by Navesh Chitrakar (on Pixdaus.com)
What's it like to be human
the bird asked
I myself don't know
it's being held prisoner by your skin
while reaching infinity
being a captive of your scrap of time
while touching eternity
being hopelessly uncertain
and helplessly hopeful
being a needle of frost
and a handful of heat
breathing in the air
and choking wordlessly
it's being on fire
with a nest made of ashes
eating bread
while filling up on hunger
it's dying without love
it's loving through death
That's funny said the bird
and flew effortlessly up into the air.
Anna Kamienska
1920-1986
translated from the Polish by
Stanislav Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh
