a contribution to statistics.
Out of a hundred people
those who always know b e t t e r
- fifty-two
d o u b t i n g every stop
- nearly all the rest
glad to l e n d a hand, if it doesn't take too long
- as high as forty-nine
always g o o d , because they can't be otherwise
- four, well maybe five
able to a d m i r e without envy
- eighteen
suffering i l l u s i o n s induced by fleeting youth
- sixty, give or take a few
not to be taken l i g h t l y
- forty and four
living in constant f e a r of someone or something
- seventy-seven
capable of h a p p i n e s s
- twenty-something tops
h a r m l e s s singly, s a v a g e in crowds
- half at least
c r u el when forced by circumstances
- better not to know, even ballpark figures
w i s e after the fact
- just a couple more than wise before it
taking o n l y things from life
- thirty (I wish I were wrong)
hunched in p a i n , no flashlight in the dark
- eighty-three, sooner or later
r i g h t e o u s
- thirty-five, which is a lot
righteous and u n d e r s t a n d i n g
- three
w o r t h y of compassion
- ninety-nine
m o r t a l
- a hundred out of a hundred.
Thus far this figure still remains u n c h a n g e d .
- Wisława Szymborska, Poems New and Collected, p.264
Painting by Amy Casey
(Credits to theartistmodels)