A Matter of Taste
"Before we declare our consent we must carefully examine / the shape of the architecture the rhythm of the drums and pipes"
Patrick Kurp cites Zbigniew Herbert’s “The Power of Taste”, which is worth reproducing in its entirety. Izydora Dambska’s translation:
It didn't require great character at all
our refusal disagreement and resistance
we had a shred of necessary courage
but fundamentally it was a matter of taste
Yes taste
in which there are fibers of soul the cartilage of conscienceWho knows if we had been better and more attractively tempted
sent rose-skinned women thin as a wafer
or fantastic creatures from the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch
but what kind of hell was there at this time
a wet pit the murderers' alley the barrack
called a palace of justice
a home-brewed Mephisto in a Lenin jacket
sent Aurora's grandchildren out into the field
boys with potato faces
very ugly girls with red handsVerily their rhetoric was made of cheap sacking
(Marcus Tullius kept turning in his grave)
chains of tautologies a couple of concepts like flails
the dialectics of slaughterers no distinctions in reasoning
syntax deprived of beauty of the subjunctiveSo aesthetics can be helpful in life
one should not neglect the study of beautyBefore we declare our consent we must carefully examine
the shape of the architecture the rhythm of the drums and pipes
official colors the despicable ritual of funeralsOur eyes and ears refused obedience
the princes of our senses proudly chose exileIt did not require great character at all
we had a shred of necessary courage
but fundamentally it was a matter of taste
Yes taste
that commands us to get out to make a wry face draw out a sneer
even if for this the precious capital of the body the head
must fall
I wish I had the equanimity of a Pole who writes off his relationship with communism as “a matter of taste”. Herbert’s refrain doubles down, and it might just be an answer to readers who doubt his sincerity: “Yes taste”.