The Nobel award for poetry In 1996 was given to the Polish poet Laurate Wislawa Szymborska. Her acceptance speech is a marvelous testimony to modesty.
In discussing the nature of poetry, she referred to “inspiration” and curiosity but not as the exclusive privilege of the poet. It is something that belongs to people of all professions. “Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous ‘I don’t know.’” And yet, there is the story of Rosa Parks. Baron Wormser, a poet, wrote a short essay about her which challenges “I don’t know.
” Wormser places Parks on the bus in Montgomery: “So When she sat there waiting for whatever was going to happen next, maybe to be arrested, maybe hit or shoved or thrown off the seat or spat on or at least be call a ‘black bitch’ because anything could happen, there was no need for explanation…This determined woman was it….She had blocked the accustomed course of obedience.” For Szymborska there is the “I don’t know” as a powerful force.
For Parks and Wormser, one might think that there was no “I don’t know.” Please share your thoughts about these two different perspectives and relate to issues in your life. Issues in my life to relate to: Being a lost first generation student Leaving an abusing relationship Losing a career as a professional ballerina due to injury Trusting yoga to help me heal emotionally and physical Going back to school and trusting myself even if I don’t know where it will lead
