Tomasz Rózycki's "The Forgotten Keys"

I've been dipping into The Forgotten Keys almost every night before going to sleep, and discovering a singular historical and political sensibility in the dreamlike imagery. The opening of "The Castle (I Came to Shoot the President)":

To continue the story. We made love—
they seized power. And they hold it over us,
those who once spit [sic] the farthest and sang
the loudest, who cheated on their tests—

they hold the power now. They know all about us,
where we live, and have sent us bills
on official letterhead. Judging from the curtains
in the rear window, reports are going straight

into the black desk....

Polish poet Tomasz Rózycki is a worthy successor to Czesław Miłosz and Zbigniew Herbert.

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