Mr. Cogito's Soul
Earlier
we know from history
she'd leave the body
when the heart stopped
at the last breath
she'd go off
to heavenly pastures
Mr. Cogito's soul
behaves in a different way
she leaves his living body
without a parting word
for months for years she's a guest
on other continents
beyond his bounds
it is not easy to find her address
she doesn't report her whereabouts
she avoids contacts
writes no letters
It is not known when she'll come back
maybe she's left him forever
Mr.Cogito wants to overcome
his base feelings of jealousy
he thinks well of his soul
he thinks of her tenderly
perhaps she must live
in other bodies as well
the number of souls
is insufficient for Mankind anyway
Mr.Cogito accepts his destiny
he has no alternative
he thinks of his soul with feeling
with a tender solicitude
and when all of a sudden
she returns
he doesn't greet her with the words
-it is good you are back
He just watches out of the corner of his eye
how she sits by the mirror
and combs her hair
-tangled and gray
by Zbigniew Herbert
from The Collected Poems: 1956-1998