I am who I am.
A coincidence no less unthinkable
than any other.
I could have different
ancestors, after all,
I could have fluttered
from another nest
or crawled bescaled
from under another tree.
Nature’s wardrobe
holds a fair supply of costumes:
spider, seagull, field mouse.
Each fits perfectly right off
and is dutifully worn
into shreds.
I didn’t get a choice either,
but I can’t complain.
I could have been someone
much less separate.
Someone from an anthill, shoal, or buzzing swarm,
an inch of landscape tousled by the wind.
Someone much less fortunate,
bred for my fur
or Christmas dinner,
something swimming under a square of glass.
A tree rooted to the ground
as the fire draws near.
A grass blade trampled by a stampede
of incomprehensible events.
A shady type whose darkness
dazzled some.
What if I’d prompted only fear,
loathing,
or pity?
If I’d been born
in the wrong tribe,
with all roads closed before me?
Fate has been kind
to me thus far.
I might never have been given
the memory of happy moments.
My yen for comparison
might have been taken away.
I might have been myself minus amazement,
that is,
someone completely different.
~ Wisława Szymborska, “Among The Multitudes“, Poems New and Collected
Notes:
- Poem Source: Philip H. Clark
- Photograph: Rob Woodcox Photography
- Inspiration: Beth @ Alive on All Channels & NY Times Book Review by Richard Lourie of Wislawa Szymborska’s ‘Map: Collected and Last Poems’ – “Great as these subjects are, they aren’t enough for Szymborska, who is simply interested in everything here on earth, “beneath one of the more parochial stars” — not only what happened, but what might have happened and what nearly didn’t. “I might have been myself minus amazement, / that is, / someone completely different.”
Live & Learn 
She was amazing poet, I love her poems. Thank you dear David, Love, nia
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Incredible. Agree Nia.
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Wonderful…tho’ we are not worthy of these bodies without amazement…Awe, humility and gratitude – at least for me, the legs of my table.
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So true. And shame on us when we think it is not so.
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Grateful for the beauty of this poem and the thoughts it engenders.
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I’m with you Peg. So great…
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So true David. I used to think about this lots when I was a kid believe it or not! ❤
Diana xo
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And me Diana, not until mid-life. Better late than…
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That’s epic. It’s one of those pieces I’ve thought about, as in the topic, but never put into words.
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Epic! That’s it. That captures it…
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Great post!
For all in this world who lack foreknowledge, the graces of life hinge on the roll of the dice.
-Alan
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Yes. How does the saying go? We plan, God laughs?
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Simple but true, Dave.
-Alan
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