Encounter
TRANSLATED BY CZESLAW MILOSZ AND LILLIAN VALLEE
We were riding through frozen fields in a wagon at dawn.
A red wing rose in the darkness.
And suddenly a hare ran across the road.
One of us pointed to it with his hand.
That was long ago. Today neither of them is alive,
Not the hare, nor the man who made the gesture.
O my love, where are they, where are they going
The flash of a hand, streak of movement, rustle of pebbles.
I ask not out of sorrow, but in wonder.
Wilno, 1936
The poet, Czeslaw Milosz lived through the greatest upheavals of the 20th century, WWI, WWII, the creation of the USSR. He was not just an observer, but a deeply moral man who acted on his convictions. All his poetry resonates with me because I respect how he lived his life and his experiences are reflected in his poetry. To me, this poem speaks to impermanence, mindfulness, and joy. We are here, the man the hare, the gesture- then we are gone, but they were there and that gestured occurred. But now they are gone-impermanent. But still, our poet mindfully remembers that moment and obviously was mindfully present for that moment if he could remember it in such detail. And more than any other element in this poem the joy resonates in this poem. The joy that life is and part of that joy is that life is impermanent. We are here, we live, we suffer, and we have moments of joy. And we wonder constantly- who are we- what is our journey-when will it end, and for me, the least important question is what comes after this life. But for many including the poet- this question of what comes after this life is a question full of wonder
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