A Shot in the Dark

1 Minute Read Time

A side view of a small pair of golden scales sitting in a legal office — Photo by Nellie Adamyan on Unsplash

This piece by Jerzy Jarniewicz is translated from Polish into English by Piotr Florczyk

Perhaps it would’ve been different. I don’t know.
Nobody knows. This kind of knowledge
isn’t expected from a random defense witness, 
who’s looking for a lighter in his pockets.
After a glance it’s obvious they won’t prove anything. 
Until the language invents an appropriate formula 
for what could’ve happened,
we will remain presumed innocent.
I admit that I live here, though I don’t 
bear any responsibility for this.
An alibi is my birthplace,
and my name the sole circumstantial evidence. 
What had been different is the same today, 
regardless of the story, which you could revise 
for a light. Not a hero, merely an observer.
Testify, time is running out. Shortly the shot will be fired 
in the dark. The jurors’ eyes are lighting up.

Jerzy Jarniewicz

is a Polish poet, translator, and literary critic who lectures in English at the University of Łódź. He has published twelve volumes of poetry and thirteen critical books on contemporary Irish, British, and American literature, and has written extensively for various journals. He is editor of the literary monthly Literatura na Świecie (Warsaw).

A man with short, dark hair and brown eyes, smiling. He stands outside a brick building, wearing rectangular glasses and a gray blazer over a black shirt

Piotr Florczyk

Piotr Florczyk’s most recent poetry book is From the Annals of Kraków (Lynx House Press, 2020). His work can be found at piotrflorczyk.com.

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