KAZIMIERZ BURNAT

KAZIMIERZ BURNAT

Savoring The Unknown

In space

between the thought and the will

mind and unconsciousness

arrhythmic selfish feelings

fear takes over

bright hues of joy

blacken

in spite of an efficient mind

you overlooked the nocturnal

essence of the interior

every man has his own fate

pain that he cannot share

and happiness that he gives to others

inaccessible soul

submissive heart

the heart chokes

consciousness goes out

the soul lives

you have to fall

with the last autumn leaf

colorfully fly away

• • •

soul reconciled with the past

blends into the ocean

to become it’s drop

TRANSLATION: K. GEORGIOU

 

Disquieting Perception

With fabric of the heavens

you shade your vision

to see the buds of surprises

from the darkness of the infinite sky

the Earth is less readable

life like an arena

we fight

we gain

and always unsatisfied

(failure of being)

the religious perspective creates hope

it doesn’t condense uncertainty

like disbelief

however, it doesn’t protect against despair

you cannot look for the sense of existence

exclusive in immortality

spiritual intensity

protects against the objectification of God

He exists even in rejection

you stand alone in front of Him

without the emblem

good done is your ID

the soul is never immobile

but the death of an old man

it’s awkward

to the impatient

TRANSLATION: K. GEORGIOU

 

Internal tear

Their love

plunges growth

of unreal expectations

intensifying thirst

with the stream of consciousness

short-lived as a rainbow

they moisten realm of insufficiency

his arrhythmic heart

writes the last poem

full of inexpressible

self-doubts

will he make you happy

or walk away in failure?

careworn organism

mind animated

(maybe will bring the heart rhythm back)

maybe God’s surprise

from sky’s palate

will bring death into agony

give chance to reach The Beginning

lasting in suffering

parting as apparent relief

TRANSLATION: K. GEORGIOU

 

Utopia

I’m looking for immortality

by distancing from the body

I have a body

but I’m not a body

hypocrisy or divinity –

but from the childhood

I maintain community awareness

of dead and alive

life (temporary)

vainly resuscitated

death still healthy

seeming to be possible to annihilate

and to bury

I will stand then

beyond the edge of time

I will pass to the world of ideas

without dying

TRANSLATION: H. CHAMIER-GLISZCZYŃSKA

KAZIMIERZ BURNAT

KAZIMIERZ BURNAT: Polish Poet, translator, essayist, publisher, journalist, organizer of cultural activities. Author of 21 books of poetry. He translated 5 books from Czech and Ukrainian. He wrote the prologue for 80 books. Translated into 43 languages. Juror of Literary contests. Member of the Bureau of the Polish Writers' Association and Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, the chairman of the Society in Lower Silesia. Member of the Union of Journalists of Poland.