So Little

Czesław Miłosz / Czeslaw Milosz
Translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Lillian Vallee

I said so little.
Days were short.

Short days.
Short nights.
Short years.

I said so little.
I couldn't keep up.

My heart grew weary
From joy,
Despair,
Ardor,
Hope.

The jaws of Leviathan
Were closing upon me.

Naked, I lay on the shores
Of desert islands.

The white whale of the world
Hauled me down to its pit.

And now I don't know
What in all that was real.

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From "The Collected Poems 1931-1987", 1988. Copyright © Czeslaw Milosz and Lillian Vallee. Source. Information about the poet here.