Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
If porcelain then only the kind by Stanisław Barańczak (translated from Polish)
If porcelain, then only the kind you won’t miss under the shoe of a mover
or the tread of a tank;
if a chair, then not too comfortable,
lest there be regret in getting up and leaving;
if clothing, then just so much as can fit in a suitcase,
if books, then those which can be carried in the memory,
if plans, then those which can be forgotten
when the time comes for the next move to another street,
continent, historical period or world:
who told you that you were permitted to settle in?
who told you that anything would last forever?
did no one ever tell you
that you will never in this world feel at home?
This poem is very buddhist to me
If porcelain, then only the kind you won’t miss under the shoe of a mover
or the tread of a tank;
if a chair, then not too comfortable,
lest there be regret in getting up and leaving;
if clothing, then just so much as can fit in a suitcase,
if books, then those which can be carried in the memory,
if plans, then those which can be forgotten
when the time comes for the next move to another street,
continent, historical period or world:
who told you that you were permitted to settle in?
who told you that anything would last forever?
did no one ever tell you
that you will never in this world feel at home?
This poem is very buddhist to me
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