Stanislaw Korab-Brzozowski

Before the Heart Fell Silent Stanislaw Korab-Brzozowski

Stanislaw Korab-Brzozowski's Collected poems (English translations with the Polish originals side by side) Little is known about the poet. Stanislaw Korab-Brzozowski was born in 1876, in Lattakia, Syria. Both his father, Karol, and his brother, Wincenty, were noted poets. In addition to writing his own poems, Stanislaw translated French poets: Baudelaire and Verlaine, among others. He edited two periodicals in Lviv, where he lived. In 1901, he committed suicide by taking poison. Tadeusz Boy-Zelenski, a distinguished Polish poet and translator, claimed that Stanislaw's suicide had been caused by a tragic love affair. I came across his poetry by accident, while I was looking for something else; I do not remember what it was, though. One of the poems in this collection: O Girl! O girl! Fondling your swan-like neck, there sits, Upon your shoulder now, this little dove; Delighted now and thrilled out of his wits, He's bringing you your earliest dawn of love. You can't understand what the dove may coo, Although there's love and longing in this art; He'd rather not be passionate with you, So as to keep desires out of your heart... Taking the thorns, he'll softly fly away; Perhaps, you'll never meet again therefore... But when you think of this affair one day, You'll know that no one ever loved you more!