Wisława Szymborska was one of the best Polish poets. She wrote about life and problems of ordinary people. She lived and worked in Kraków. She got the Nobel Prize for literature in 1996.
Page 12
English translation a few lines
On the hill where Troy once stood, they've dug up seven cities.
Seven cities. Six too many for a single epic.
What's to be done with them? What?
Hexameters burst,
nonfictional bricks appear between the cracks,
ruined walls rise mutely as in silent films,
charred beams, broken chains,
bottomless pitchers drained dry,
fertility charms,
olive pitsand skulls
as palpable as tomorrow's moon.
The poem shows the transience of life. Present civilizations are not interested in the past, most of the time they spend their energy on the mundane things like shopping or television. If someone is even interested, they often give judgements, which are not connected with the culture of old countries. This makes the opinions unfair. Now the times of heroes have passed, people don't make deeds that someone will remember in the future.