Try to Praise
The Polish poet Adam Zagajewski died last month. His most famous poem was “Try to Praise the Mutilated World”, which was printed in the New Yorker soon after 9/11 and skilfully mixed charming and morbid imagery:
Try to praise the mutilated world.
Remember June’s long days,
and wild strawberries, drops of rosé wine.
The nettles that methodically overgrow
the …