Thursday, May 20, 2010

Do You know Anna Swir?


I Knocked My Head against the Wall

by Anna Swir


As a child
I put my finger in the fire
to become
a saint.

As a teenager
every day I would knock my head against the wall.

As a young girl
I went out through a window of a garret
to the roof
in order to jump.

As a woman
I had lice all over my body.
They cracked when I was ironing my sweater.

I waited sixty minutes
to be executed.
I was hungry for six years.

Then I bore a child,
they were carving me
without putting me to sleep.

Then a thunderbolt killed me
three times and I had to rise from the dead three times
without anyone’s help.

Now I am resting
after three resurrections.
***


All poets are matchstick men.


1 comment:

Lyle Daggett said...

Nice poem. I love Anna Swir's poetry. In my blog quite a while back I wrote about her work, here, if you care to take a look.

Great photo of her too -- I'd never seen a picture of her before.

BTW, I found your blog through the blogroll in Elisa Gabbert's blog The French Exit, in case you're curious.