Parable

Some fishermen pulled a bottle from the deep. In it was a scrap of paper, on which were written the words: “Someone, save me! Here I am. The ocean has cast me upon a desert island. I am standing on the shore waiting for help. Hurry. Here I am!”
“There is no date. Surely it is too late by now. The bottle could have been floating in the sea a long time,” said the first fisherman.
“And the place is not indicated. We do not even know which ocean,” said the second fisherman.
“It is neither too late nor too far. The island called Here is everywhere,” said the third fisherman.
They all felt uneasy. A silence fell. So it is with universal truths.

This very powerful piece of writing comes from “Sounds, Feelings, Thoughts. Seventy poems by Wisława Szymborska”, to be found in the university library.

: 07 Jun 2005 23:22 |  Tags: 2005 English Great Poets |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem