Monologue Of A Dog

by Szymborska, Wislawa

• ISBN13: 9780151012206
• ISBN10: 0151012202
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-11-30
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

"In this collection of contemplative, witty, and always surprising poems, Wislawa Szymborska writes with verve about everything from love unremembered to keys mislaid in the grass, from small-scale naughtiness to the happiness of skating on thin ice, from the district firemen's ball to the cosmos."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. She lives in Krakow, Poland.

Table of Contents

Forewordix
Monolog psa zaplatanego w dzieje	p. 2
Monologue of a Dog Ensnared in History	p. 3
Chwila	p. 10
Moment	p. 11
W zatrzesieniu	p. 14
Among the Multitudes	p. 15
Chmury	p. 20
Clouds	p. 21
Negatyw	p. 24
Negative	p. 25
Sluchawka	p. 26
Receiver	p. 27
Trzy slowa najdziwniejsze	p. 28
The Three Oddest Words	p. 29
Milczenie roslin	p. 30
The Silence of Plants	p. 31
Platon, czyli dlaczego	p. 34
Plato, or Why	p. 35
Mala dziewczynka sciaga obrus	p. 38
A Little Girl Tugs at the Tablecloth	p. 39
Ze wspomnien	p. 42
A Memory	p. 43
Kaluza	p. 44
Puddles	p. 45
Pierwsza milosc	p. 46
First Love	p. 47
Troche o duszy	p. 48
A Few Words on the Soul	p. 49
Wczesna godzina	p. 54
Early Hour	p. 55
W parku	p. 58
In the Park	p. 59
Przyczynek do statystyki	p. 60
A Contribution to Statistics	p. 61
Jacys ludzie	p. 64
Some People	p. 65
Fotografia z 11 wrzesnia	p. 68
Photograph from September 11	p. 69
Bagaz powrotny	p. 70
Return Baggage	p. 71
Bal	p. 74
The Ball	p. 75
Notatka	p. 78
A Note	p. 79
Spis	p. 82
List	p. 83
Wszystko	p. 88
Everything	p. 89
Uprzejmosc niewidomych	p. 90
The Courtesy of the Blind	p. 91
ABC	p. 94
ABC	p. 95
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Monologue of a Dog Ensnared in HistoryThere are dogs and dogs. I was among the chosen.I had good papers and wolf's blood in my veins.I lived upon the heights inhaling the odors of views:meadows in sunlight, spruces after rain,and clumps of earth beneath the snow.I had a decent home and people on call,I was fed, washed, groomed,and taken for lovely strolls.Respectfully, though, and comme il faut.They all knew full well whose dog I was.Any lousy mutt can have a master.Take care, though-beware comparisons.My master was a breed apart.He had a splendid herd that trailed his every stepand fixed its eyes on him in fearful awe.Monolog psa zaplatanego w dziejeSa psy i psy. Ja bylem psem wybranym.Mialem dobre papiery i w zylach krew wilcza.Mieszkalem na wyzynie wdychajac wonie widokwna laki w sloncu, na swierki po deszczui grudy ziemi spod sniegu.Mialem porzadny dom i ludzi na uslugibylem zywiony, myty, szczotkowany,wyprowadzany na piekne spacery.Jednak z szacunkiem, bez poufalosci.Kazdy dobrze pamietal, czyim jestem psem.Byle parszywy kundel potrafi miec pana.Ale uwaga-wara od porwnan.Mj pan byl panem jedynym w swoim rodzaju.Mial okazale stado chodzace za nim krok w kroki zapatrzone w niego z lekliwym podziwem.Copyright © by Wislawa Szymborska, 2002Translation copyright © 2006 by Harcourt, Inc.Foreword © 2006 by Billy CollinsAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

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Excerpted from Monologue of a Dog by Wislawa Szymborska
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