“The Statues” by Jacek Kaczmarski

“Posągi” (1989) translated from Polish by Anna Karpiuk and Piotr Migdał

What bliss when a tyrant’s tall statues are shattered
But in each shard of bronze in each shrapnel of stone
There lingers a trace of the spark that once fluttered
In the one that was thrown from the throne

And all men who saw the almighty’s rise and fall
And all new statues cast out of metal and dust
Will carry a splinter of the same tyrant’s soul
Fact of life never to be discussed

What bliss when a tyrant’s tall statues are shattered
But a void on the plinth is what world cannot bear
For statues are all made of one ancient matter
That somewhere deep inside we all share

• Original lyrics
• Foreword + song by Jacek Kaczmarski
• Declamation by Stanisław Elsner Załuski

Thanks to Staszek Krawczyk and Sarah Martin, for helpful suggestions. Staszek translated and sung a few songs by Jacek Kaczmarski:

• “The Walls” (“Mury”) — Solidarity movement’s anthem
• “Martin Luther” (“Marcin Luter”)
• “A Lesson in Classical History” (“Lekcja historii klasycznej”)