Czesław Miłosz :
We are a poor people, much afflicted.
We camped under various stars,
Where you dip water with a cup from a muddy river
And slice your bread with a pocketknife.
This is a place accepted, not chosen.
#
Adversity
#
Love
#
Books - Reading
Gift it
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99530&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=We+are+a+poor+people%2C+much+afflicted.%0AWe+camped+under+various+stars%2C%0AWhere+you+dip+water+with+a+cup+from+a+muddy+river%0AAnd+slice+your+bread+with+a+pocketknife.%0AThis+is+a+place+accepted%2C+not+chosen.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31736&author=George Bernard Shaw"e=++Don%27t+order+any+black+things.+Rejoice+in+his+memory%3B+and+be+radiant%3A+leave+grief+to+the+children.+Wear+violet+and+purple.+Be+patient+with+the+poor+people+who+will+snivel%3A+they+don%27t+know%3B+and+they+think+they+will+live+for+ever%2C+which+makes+death+a+division+instead+of+a+bond.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F8027%2FGeorge_Bernard_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=98417&author=Linda McQuaig"e=It+is+almost+enough+to+make+one%27s+jaw+drop+to+think+that+officials+at+the+World+Bank+and+the+IMF+would+suggest+that+they+have+poverty+alleviation+in+mind+when+they+force+governments+to+withdraw+subsidies+that+enable+poor+people+to+get+clean+water+to+drink.+If+this+is+a+policy+aimed+at+helping+the+world%27s+poor%2C+it%27s+interesting+to+imagine+what+a+policy+aimed+at+hurting+the+world%27s+poor+would+look+like.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14557%2FLinda+McQuaig_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=115213&author=Mae West"e=If+I+asked+for+a+cup+of+coffee%2C+someone+would+search+for+the+double+meaning.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F64%2FMae+West_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31730&author=Washington Irving"e=++The+sorrow+for+the+dead+is+the+only+sorrow+from+which+we+refuse+to+be+divorced.+Every+other+wound+we+seek+to+heal+--+every+other+affliction+to+forget%3A+but+this+wound+we+consider+it+a+duty+to+keep+open+--+this+affliction+we+cherish+and+brood+over+in+solitude.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F448%2FWashington_Irving_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31728&author=Coleman Dowell"e=++It+is+extraordinary+how+the+house+and+the+simplest+possessions+of+someone+who+has+been+left+become+so+quickly+sordid.+Even+the+stain+on+the+coffee+cup+seems+not+coffee+but+the+physical+manifestation+of+one%27s+inner+stain%2C+the+fatal+blot+that+from+the+beginning+had+marked+one+for+ultimate+aloneness.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F156%2FColeman+Dowell_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31738&author=Henry David Thoreau"e=++We+feel+at+first+as+if+some+opportunities+of+kindness+and+sympathy+were+lost%2C+but+learn+afterward+that+any+pure+grief+is+ample+recompense+for+all.+That+is%2C+if+we+are+faithful%3B+--+for+a+spent+grief+is+but+sympathy+with+the+soul+that+disposes+events%2C+and+is+as+natural+as+the+resin+of+Arabian+trees.+--+Only+nature+has+a+right+to+grieve+perpetually%2C+for+she+only+is+innocent.+Soon+the+ice+will+melt%2C+and+the+blackbirds+sing+along+the+river+which+he+frequented%2C+as+pleasantly+as+ever.+The+same+everlasting+serenity+will+appear+in+this+face+of+God%2C+and+we+will+not+be+sorrowful%2C+if+he+is+not.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F8209%2FHenry+David+Thoreau_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108927&author=Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley"e=While+I+listened+to+the+instructions+which+Felix+bestowed+upon+the+Arabian%2C+the+strange+system+of+human+society+was+explained+to+me.+I+heard+of+the+division+of+property%2C+of+immense+wealth+and+squalid+poverty%2C+of+rank%2C+descent%2C+and+noble+blood.%0AThe+words+induced+me+to+turn+towards+myself.+I+learned+that+the+possessions+most+esteemed+by+your+fellow+creatures+were+high+and+unsullied+descent+united+with+riches.+A+man+might+be+respected+with+only+one+of+these+advantages%2C+but+without+either+he+was+considered%2C+except+in+very+rare+instances%2C+as+a+vagabond+and+a+slave%2C+doomed+to+waste+his+powers+for+the+profits+of+the+chosen+few%21+And+what+was+I%3F+Of+my+creation+and+creator+I+was+absolutely+ignorant%2C+but+I+knew+that+I+possessed+no+money%2C+no+friends%2C+no+kind+of+property.+I+was%2C+besides%2C+endued+with+a+figure+hideously+deformed+and+loathsome%3B+I+was+not+even+of+the+same+nature+as+man.+I+was+more+agile+than+they+and+could+subsist+upon+coarser+diet%3B+I+bore+the+extremes+of+heat+and+cold+with+less+injury+to+my+frame%3B+my+stature+far+exceeded+theirs.+When+I+looked+around+I+saw+and+heard+of+none+like+me.+Was+I%2C+then%2C+a+monster%2C+a+blot+upon+the+earth%2C+from+which+all+men+fled+and+whom+all+men+disowned%3F%0AI+cannot+describe+to+you+the+agony+that+these+reflections+inflicted+upon+me%3B+I+tried+to+dispel+them%2C+but+sorrow+only+increased+with+knowledge.+Oh%2C+that+I+had+forever+remained+in+my+native+wood%2C+nor+known+nor+felt+beyond+the+sensations+of+hunger%2C+thirst%2C+and+heat%21%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F2756%2FMary+Wollstonecraft+Shelley_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=106893&author=Eleanor Roosevelt"e=To+me+who+dreamed+so+much+as+a+child%2C+who+made+a+dreamworld+in+which+I+was+the+heroine+of+an+unending+story%2C+the+lives+of+people+around+me+continued+to+have+a+certain+storybook+quality.+I+learned+something+which+has+stood+me+in+good+stead+many+times+%E2%80%94+The+most+important+thing+in+any+relationship+is+not+what+you+get+but+what+you+give.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1160%2FEleanor_Roosevelt_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=86972&author=Friedrich August Von Hayek"e=What+we+need+and+can+hope+to+achieve+is+not+more+power+in+the+hands+of+irresponsible+international+economic+authorities+but%2C+on+the+contrary%2C+a+superior+political+power+which+can+hold+the+economic+interests+in+check%2C+and+in+the+conflict+between+them+can+truly+hold+the+scales%2C+because+it+is+itself+not+mixed+up+in+the+economic+game.+The+need+is+for+an+international+political+authority+which%2C+without+power+to+direct+the+different+people+what+they+must+do%2C+must+be+able+to+restrain+them+from+action+which+will+damage+others.+The+powers+which+must+devolve+on+an+international+authority+are+not+the+new+powers+assumed+by+the+states+in+recent+times+but+that+minimum+of+powers+without+which+it+is+impossible+to+preserve+peaceful+relationships%2C+i.e.%2C+essentially+the+powers+of+the+ultra-liberal+%22laissez+faire%22+state.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F6074%2FFriedrich+August+Von_Hayek_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=24549&author=Georges Bernanos"e=++A+poor+man+with+nothing+in+his+belly+needs+hope%2C+illusion%2C+more+than+bread.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F115%2FGeorges+Bernanos_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99531&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=And+here+I+am+walking+the+eternal+earth.%0ATiny%2C+leaning+on+a+stick.%0AI+pass+a+volcanic+park%2C+lie+down+at+a+spring%2C%0ANot+knowing+how+to+express+what+is+always+and+everywhere%3A%0AThe+earth+I+cling+to+is+so+solid%0AUnder+my+breast+and+belly+that+I+feel+grateful%0AFor+every+pebble%2C+and+I+don%27t+know+whether%0AIt+is+my+pulse+or+the+earth%27s+that+I+hear%2C%0AWhen+the+hems+of+invisible+silk+vestments+pass+over+me%2C%0AHands%2C+wherever+they+have+been%2C+touch+my+arm%2C%0AOr+small+laughter%2C+once%2C+long+ago+over+wine%2C%0AWith+lanterns+in+the+magnolias%2C+for+my+house+is+huge.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99497&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=All+was+taken+away+from+you%3A+white+dresses%2C%0Awings%2C+even+existence.%0AYet+I+believe+you%2C%0Amessengers.%0AThere%2C+where+the+world+is+turned+inside+out%2C%0Aa+heavy+fabric+embroidered+with+stars+and+beasts%2C%0Ayou+stroll%2C+inspecting+the+trustworthy+seams.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99489&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=Every+poet+depends+upon+generations+who+wrote+in+his+native+tongue%3B+he+inherits+styles+and+forms+elaborated+by+those+who+lived+before+him.+At+the+same+time%2C+though%2C+he+feels+that+those+old+means+of+expression+are+not+adequate+to+his+own+experience.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99490&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=And+those+who+expected+lightning+and+thunder%0AAre+disappointed.%0AAnd+those+who+expected+signs+and+archangels%27+trumps%0ADo+not+believe+it+is+happening+now.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99491&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=Only+a+white-haired+old+man%2C+who+would+be+a+prophet%0AYet+is+not+a+prophet%2C+for+he%27s+much+too+busy%2C%0ARepeats+while+he+binds+his+tomatoes%3A%0ANo+other+end+of+the+world+will+there+be%2C%0ANo+other+end+of+the+world+will+there+be.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99492&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=We+were+permitted+to+shriek+in+the+tongue+of+dwarfs+and+demons%0ABut+pure+and+generous+words+were+forbidden%0AUnder+so+stiff+a+penalty+that+whoever+dared+to+pronounce+one%0AConsidered+himself+as+a+lost+man.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99493&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=It%27s+true+that+what+is+morbid+is+highly+valued+today%2C%0Aand+so+you+may+think+that+I+am+only+joking%0Aor+that+I%27ve+devised+just+one+more+means%0Aof+praising+Art+with+the+help+of+irony.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99494&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=There+was+a+time+when+only+wise+books+were+read%0Ahelping+us+to+bear+our+pain+and+misery.%0AThis%2C+after+all%2C+is+not+quite+the+same%0Aas+leafing+through+a+thousand+works+fresh+from+psychiatric+clinics.%0AAnd+yet+the+world+is+different+from+what+it+seems+to+be%0Aand+we+are+other+than+how+we+see+ourselves+in+our+ravings.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99495&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=The+purpose+of+poetry+is+to+remind+us%0Ahow+difficult+it+is+to+remain+just+one+person%2C%0Afor+our+house+is+open%2C+there+are+no+keys+in+the+doors%2C%0Aand+invisible+guests+come+in+and+out+at+will.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99496&author=Czesław Miłosz"e=What+I%27m+saying+here+is+not%2C+I+agree%2C+poetry%2C%0Aas+poems+should+be+written+rarely+and+reluctantly%2C%0Aunder+unbearable+duress+and+only+with+the+hope%0Athat+good+spirits%2C+not+evil+ones%2C+choose+us+for+their+instrument.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}