On World Poetry Day
Odessa is burning, there are dead in Gaza
racism is coming out of its burrow
oligarchs invest in fascism
and cowards in power play war and peace with the cards of others’ lives
on World Poetry Day
drones kill metaphor, violence rapes metonymy
the comfort of the rich, the fear of the poor silence the word
and the exclamation mark is shot down before the eyes of millions actively silent
and they wanted the sublimation of pain and harm into beauty
high speech for the dwarfed and downtrodden
meanwhile, as every year, the holiday of poetry
is a regular day of this world
By Krzysztof Czyżewski
About the author:
Krzystof Czyżewski is a Polish author, philosopher, culture animator, theatre director, and editor. He is the Co-founder and president of the Borderland Foundation and director of the Centre “Borderland of Arts, Cultures and Nations” in Sejny. He also initiated an International Center for Dialog on the Polish-Lithuanian border. He initiated several intercultural dialogue programs in Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Asia, Indonesia, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the USA. He received several awards, including the Jerzy Giedroyć Prize, the Dan David Prize, the Ambassador of European Year of Intercultural Dialog and the Tischner Award. He works as a lecturer and visiting professor at Rutgers University and the University of Bologna.
He writes a bi-weekly column for The Asian Review that includes literature, community memory, and philosophy.
Categories: People & Culture
The Asian Review 