Translated by Przemyslaw Musialowski 11/6/2019

Don't hope for any light

Don't hope for any light in the midst of a storm,
neither on earth nor in the sky.
For whoever awaits it will certainly die
and he'll be a bell, ringing at his own funeral.
And only those won't be covered by the dark coat of night
who within themselves will find the light,
to clearly illuminate their path,
by kindling their own spiritual fire.

*by kindling their own fire of the spirit all alone.

A Toast

A fool would be the one who wants at sea depth
to quench the thirst that burns him from the inside,
who, clinging to the wide wave,
rises up with her and collapses into the abyss.
A fool! ... Life, the great cellarmaster,
is only going to give him a goblet full of bitterness.
Even without us, the seas flow into the abyss -
long live the wine!...

Maria Konopnicka (1842-1910)