In every tragedy, an element of comedy is preserved. Comedy is just tragedy reversed. — Wislawa Szymborska
In the language of poetry, where every word is weighed, nothing is usual or normal. — Wislawa Szymborska
Every beginning is only a sequel, after all, and the book of events is always open halfway through. — Wislawa Szymborska
Poets yearn, of course, to be published, read, and understood, but they do little, if anything — Wislawa Szymborska
Generally speaking, life is so rich and full of variety; you have to remember all the time — Wislawa Szymborska
Nothing can ever happen twice. In consequence, the sorry fact is that we arrive here — Wislawa Szymborska
Get to know other worlds, if only for comparison. I am near, too near for him to dream of me. — Wislawa Szymborska
Someone sits at a table or lies on a sofa while staring motionless at a wall or ceiling. — Wislawa Szymborska
There’s nothing new under the sun: that’s what you wrote, ecclesiastes. But you yourself were born new under the sun. — Wislawa Szymborska
Take it not amiss, o speech, that I borrow weighty words, and later try hard to make them seem light. — Wislawa Szymborska
Though I may deny poets their monopoly on inspiration, I still place them in a select group of fortune’s darlings. — Wislawa Szymborska
This terrifying world is not devoid of charms, of the mornings that make waking up worthwhile. — Wislawa Szymborska