Anna Swir (Świrszczyńska) (1909–1984) was born in Warsaw. A member of the Polish Resistance, she served as a military nurse during the Warsaw Uprising; at one point she came within an hour of being executed before she was spared. The author of six poetry collections, Swir often described the suffering witnessed during wartime. Talking to My Body (Copper Canyon Press, 1996) deals frankly with sensuality and the female body.

The Same Inside

by Anna Swir

Walking to your place for a love feast
I saw on a street corner
an old beggar woman.

I took her hand,
kissed her delicate cheek,
we talked, she was
the same inside as I am,
from the same kind,
I sensed this instantly
as a dog knows by scent
another dog.
People on couch
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