Auf dem Nachbargleis

For the first time in English: a selection of poems by Jakub Ekier, complemented by poetic diary entries. A faded advertisement poster is observed up close, while the yawning space is acknowledged in all its vastness. Sometimes one finds oneself in the midst of cosmic blackness, other times in a flickering megastore filled with screens. The Warsaw poet Jakub Ekier also thinks poetically in his diary prose; he is unsettled by the coexistence of suffering and beauty. His language, which combines playfulness with objectivity, leaves many questions open and invites readers to complete the unfinished narratives themselves. Fireflies on the path for Elisabeth and Reiner Kunze. Darkness between the trunks, the universe flashes above the ground, just as I saw it quickly at the age of five, holding my father's hand. Without offspring, I stretch out my hand, and no one, nothing, only the universe dark between the trunks above the ground. Stars form a corridor in front of me.