A Contribution to Statistics
Out of a hundred people
those who always know better
-- fifty-two
doubting every step
-- nearly all the rest,
glad to lend a hand
if it doesn't take too long
-- as high as forty-nine,
always good
because they can't be otherwise
-- four, well maybe five,
able to admire without envy
-- eighteen,
suffering illusions
induced by fleeting youth
-- sixty, give or take a few,
not to be taken lightly
-- forty and four,
living in constant fear
of someone or something
-- seventy-seven,
capable of happiness
-- twenty-something tops,
harmless singly, savage in crowds
-- half at least,
cruel
when forced by circumstances
-- better not to know
even ballpark figures,
wise after the fact
-- just a couple more
than wise before it,
taking only things from life
-- thirty
(I wish I were wrong),
hunched in pain,
no flashlight in the dark
-- eighty-three
sooner or later,
righteous
-- thirty-five, which is a lot,
righteous
and understanding
-- three,
worthy of compassion
-- ninety-nine,
mortal
-- a hundred out of a hundred.
Thus far this figure still remains unchanged.
~ Wislawa Szymborska ~
(Poems: New and Selected, trans. by S. Baranczak and C. Cavanagh)
Out of a hundred people
those who always know better
-- fifty-two
doubting every step
-- nearly all the rest,
glad to lend a hand
if it doesn't take too long
-- as high as forty-nine,
always good
because they can't be otherwise
-- four, well maybe five,
able to admire without envy
-- eighteen,
suffering illusions
induced by fleeting youth
-- sixty, give or take a few,
not to be taken lightly
-- forty and four,
living in constant fear
of someone or something
-- seventy-seven,
capable of happiness
-- twenty-something tops,
harmless singly, savage in crowds
-- half at least,
cruel
when forced by circumstances
-- better not to know
even ballpark figures,
wise after the fact
-- just a couple more
than wise before it,
taking only things from life
-- thirty
(I wish I were wrong),
hunched in pain,
no flashlight in the dark
-- eighty-three
sooner or later,
righteous
-- thirty-five, which is a lot,
righteous
and understanding
-- three,
worthy of compassion
-- ninety-nine,
mortal
-- a hundred out of a hundred.
Thus far this figure still remains unchanged.
~ Wislawa Szymborska ~
(Poems: New and Selected, trans. by S. Baranczak and C. Cavanagh)
