I am twenty-four <br />led to slaughter <br />I survived. <br /> <br />The following are empty synonyms: <br />man and beast <br />love and hate <br />friend and foe <br />darkness and light. <br /> <br />The way of killing men and beasts is the same <br />I've seen it: <br />truckfuls of chopped-up men <br />who will not be saved. <br /> <br />Ideas are mere words: <br />virtue and crime <br />truth and lies <br />beauty and ugliness <br />courage and cowardice. <br /> <br />Virtue and crime weigh the same <br />I've seen it: <br />in a man who was both <br />criminal and virtuous. <br /> <br />I seek a teacher and a master <br />may he restore my sight hearing and speech <br />may he again name objects and ideas <br />may he separate darkness from light. <br /> <br />I am twenty-four <br />led to slaughter <br />I survived. <br /> <br /> <br />Translated by Adam Czerniawski<br /><br />Tadeusz Ròzewicz<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-survivor-2/
