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Number One

By Ewa Lipska

Translated from Polish by Robin Davidson & Ewa Elżbieta Nowakowska

Ewa Lipska pens an ode to love in a market-driven world.

September 19, 2007

Published in Our Sonnets from the Portugese

Poland

Colorful hearts and circles over a maroon striped background.

Textile Design with Horizontal Undulating Strips of Pearls with Alternating Offsetting Bundles of Pearls and Heart Shapes over a Background of Alternating Overlapping Scales. Anonymous, Alsatian, 19th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum Accession, transferred from the Library. Public Domain.

And so what
that our planet
is bookable.

The moon listed in property records.
The sun included in a notarized deed.

Numbered cities. Mortgaged streets.
Multi-digital fate.

New wars
secured
by property of the Decalogue.

Exorbitant sums of hope at public auctions.

And so what
when love
a twig brushed by the wind
is always Number One
and leans toward us.

Translation of “Numer Jeden.” Copyright Ewa Lipska. By arrangement with the author. Translation copyright 2007 Robin Davidson and Ewa Elżbieta Nowakowska. All rights reserved.

And so what
that our planet
is bookable.

The moon listed in property records.
The sun included in a notarized deed.

Numbered cities. Mortgaged streets.
Multi-digital fate.

New wars
secured
by property of the Decalogue.

Exorbitant sums of hope at public auctions.

And so what
when love
a twig brushed by the wind
is always Number One
and leans toward us.

Ewa Lipska

Ewa Lipska was born in Kraków in the Polish…

Robin Davidson

Robin Davidson is a poet, translator, and assistant…

Ewa Elżbieta Nowakowska

Ewa Elżbieta Nowakowska is a poet and translator living…

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