#five men

Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative.

I will tag @katsimsdreamer​ and @themoonglitch​ as I haven’t seen them tagged yet. No pressure girls!

1 They take them out in the morning to the stone courtyard and put them against the wall five men two of them very young the others middle-aged nothing more can be said about them 2 when the platoon level their guns everything suddenly appears in the garish light of obviousness the yellow wall the cold blue the black wire on the wall instead of a horizon that is the moment when the five senses rebel they would gladly escape like rats from a sinking ship before the bullet reaches its destination the eye will perceive the flight of the projectile the ear record a steely rustle the nostrils will be filled with biting smoke a petal of blood will brush the palate the touch will shrink and then slacken now they lie on the ground covered up to their eyes with shadow the platoon walks away their buttons straps and steel helmets are more alive than those lying beside the wall 3 I did not learn this today I knew it before yesterday so why have I been writing unimportant poems on flowers what did the five talk of the night before the execution of prophetic dreams of an escapade in a brothel of automobile parts of a sea voyage of how when he had spades he ought not to have opened of how vodka is best after wine you get a headache of girls of fruit of life thus one can use in poetry names of Greek shepherds one can attempt to catch the color of morning sky write of love and also once again in dead earnest offer to the betrayed world a rose Translated from the Polish by Czesław Miłoz & Peter Dale Scott

(many thanks to jamsarni over on Twitter for spotting this and sending it in)

Zbigniew Herbert, Five Men

Five men