A Song on the End of the World


By Czeslaw Milosz
Translated by Anthony Milosz


On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.


And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.


Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.


Warsaw, 1944

Quotes
"Laughter is the language of the soul."
-Pablo Neruda


"The greatest respect an artist can pay to music is to give it life."
-Pablo Casals

When I think about the most fun I've had in life, somehow I see myself laughing. Then certain friends quickly come to mind. You know the ones. They laugh easily & usually make me laugh easily too. These are the people I gravitate to & want to spend my time with. They have a skewed look at the world that usually has some kind of irony & amazement. The world is not flat, but round & soft & squishy like a pillow that cushions so that your head is protected & doesn't hit the pavement in its long decent into reality.
Next I hear music. The times I am listening to or playing music are wonderful & sometimes magical. What would the world be without music? It would be a very different place and one I hope we never have to experience.
These two concepts that elevate the soul & manifest as laughter & music are, in my mind, essential for a healthy life.

Quotes
"Laughter is the language of the soul."
-Pablo Neruda

"The greatest respect an artist can pay to music is to give it life."
-Pablo Casals
​
"The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well."
​— Elisabeth Kubler-Ross