THOSE MEN, SO POWERFUL (1990)

-by Stanislaw Baranczak

Those men, so powerful, always shown
somewhat from below by crouching cameramen, who lift
a heavy foot to crush me, no, to climb
the steps of the plane, who raise a hand
to strike me, no, to greet the crowds
obediently waving little flags, men who sign
my death warrant, no, just a trade
agreement which is promptly dried by a servile blotter.

those men so brave, with such upraised foreheads
standing in an open car, who
so courageously visit the battle-line of harvest operations,
step into a furrow as though entering a trench,
those men with hard hands capable of banging
the rostrum and slapping the backs
of people bowed in obeisance who have just this moment been pinned
to their best suits with a medal,

always
you were so afraid of them,
you were so small
compared to them, who always stood above
you, on steps, rostrums, platforms,
and yet it is enough for just one instant to stop
being afraid, or let's say
begin to be a little less afraid,
to become convinced that they are the ones,
that they are the ones who are afraid the most


* * *

From "Selected Poems: The Weight of the Body" (Triquarterly Books/Northwestern University/Another Chicago Pres
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