A Contribution of Statistcs (Wislawa Szymborska)

 

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