"Terrorist He's Watching'' By Wislawa Syzmborska

Wislawa Szymborska — the Nobel laureate (1996) from Poland was born in 1923 and died in 2012 at the age of 88. As a critic has noted:

Szymborska frequently employed literary devices such as ironic precision, paradox, contradiction and understatement, to illuminate philosophical themes and obsessions. Many of her poems feature war and terrorism. She wrote from unusual points of view, such as a cat in the newly empty apartment of its dead owner. Her reputation rests on a relatively small body of work, fewer than 350 poems. When asked why she had published so few poems, she said: "I have a trash can in my home".

The modern poem “The Terrorist, He is Watching” by Wislawa Szymborska is from the collection View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems. The poem has 5 stanzas of varying sizes and shapes. The line lengths are not the same. In addition, there is no discernable rhyming scheme. Through that the writer seems to be trying to convey the sheer irrationality of the acts of terrorism. Looking at the title of the poem “The Terrorist, He is watching” – somebody is watching the bar across the street, and that person is a “He,” a male. This male person who is watching the bar across the street is a terrorist. Usually, things like war and terrorism are considered male prerogatives – only things largely males are capable of. Women are usually considered guardians of life – not destroyers of life. The title is about “The Terrorist” – a particular terrorist known to the poetic persona. The readers are not told who the poetic person is; however, we know he/she has complete knowledge of what is happening at the moment: s/he knows where the bomb is, who has planted it and when it is going to explode. The question is how s/he has come to know these things? S/he cannot be another terrorist as s/he identifies the person s/he is observing as “The Terrorist” which implies that s/he is not one. S/he shares what s/he sees as s/he sees it using the present and future tenses with the reader. The tone the narrative persona initially employs is quite matter-of-fact. However, her/his experience wears down the façade and his indifference disintegrates.   

The bomb in the bar will explode at thirteen twenty.
Now it’s just thirteen sixteen.
There’s still time for some to go in,
And some to come out.

The first line of the first stanza is an end-stop line. In that, the poetic persona tells the reader quite very casually that a bomb is about to explode in a bar at a particular time. In this line the poet uses the simple future tense indicating a certain sense of inevitability. Though the poetic person has access to information, s/he is not going to intervene and stop the tragedy. The readers are not told why the poetic persona is incapable of intervening. Is s/he an undercover law enforcement officer or a journalist who cannot get involved – his/her role is only to report what is happening. One gets the notion that the poetic person might be connected to the military from the way s/he records time. We are told the bomb is set to explode at thirteen twenty (1.20 p.m.). In the second line, another end-stop line, the reader is given the present time. They had just 4 minutes before the bomb would explode, but despite the brevity of the period of time so many things happen and the poetic persona notes all those incidents carefully. The constant references to time – at times down to the precise second – generate suspense and tension. The poet uses enjambment (use of run-on lines) in lines 3 and 4. In them, the poetic persona euphemistically mentions “[t]here’s still time for some to go in, / [a]nd some to come out” – those who walk in, walk into their death and those who walk out, escape death.   

The terrorist has already crossed the street.
That distance keeps him out of danger,
and what a view- just like the movies:

The second stanza is a triplet. In the first end-stop line, the poetic persona states that “[t]he terrorist has already crossed the street” and thereby safe. By crossing the street and waiting to see the result of his diabolical action, the terrorist displays himself to be insensitive, cowardly and evil. He is subjecting others to something he is not willing to experience – through this line the poetess illustrates her criticism against using terrorism as a weapon/tool in order to realize sociopolitical and economic aspirations by certain groups. Those who use terrorism as a weapon to realize their aspirations use innocent people to do so. Unlike in traditional warfare in which the victims at least get an advance warning of the impending violence, terrorists do not give their victims any warning at all. Both the poetic persona and the terrorist have full view of the scene in front of them and the poetic persona concludes that the view looks like something form a movie. The stanza ends in a semi colon indicating that an example would be forthcoming. There is no rhyming scheme; however, the line length is more uniform in this stanza.  After this stanza, the poetic persona’s complete focus is on the victims and the survivors of this act of terrorism; s/he ignores the terrorist completely.        

A woman in a yellow jacket, she’s going in.
A man in dark glasses, he’s coming out.
Teenagers in jeans, they’re talking.
Thirteen seventeen and four seconds.
The short one, he’s lucky, he’s getting on a scooter,
but the tall one, he’s going in.     

In the third stanza the poetic persona offers us a description of the “movie” that is unfolding in front of his/her eyes. The first thing s/he notices is that “[a] woman in a yellow jacket, she is going in.” Here, the poet uses parallelism. The structure of the title is repeated whenever a person is mentioned – noun, noun + verb. Yellow is a colour associated with cheerfulness and hope. Why did she wear that colour that day? Who did she go in to meet? However, the woman is almost certain to die in the explosion. This generates a sense of pathos. In the next line a man wearing dark glasses comes out of the bar which spares his life. Both the man and the woman are grow-ups. Next he notices two teenagers “talking” in front of the bar. He checks time as if to see how close they are to death. Then he sees the “short one” “getting on his scooter” and moving away – he is going to be safe. The poetic persona concludes that it was luck that had saved him – the use of the word “lucky” indicates the sense of relief felt by the poetic persona. At the beginning the poetic persona was an uninvolved observer. However, by the third stanza s/he is becoming emotionally involved with the fates of the people in front of him/her. Then he sees “the tall one” walking into the bar. By walking into the bar he is walking into his death. All the victims of the explosions are unknown to the poetic persona and the terrorist as indicated by the use of “a woman,” “a man” and “teenagers”. The terrorist makes use of these unknown people to make a political statement – he doesn’t seem to have any regard for their lives. For him these people are just a means to an end.

Thirteen seventeen and forty seconds.
That girl, she’s walking along with a green ribbon in her hair.
But then a bus suddenly pulls in front of her.
Thirteen eighteen.
The girl’s gone.
Was she that dumb, did she go in or not,
we’ll see when they carry them out.
Thirteen nineteen.
Somehow no one’s going in.
Another guy, fat, bald, is leaving, though.
Wait a second, looks like he’s looking for something in his
pockets and
at thirteen twenty minus ten seconds
he goes back in for his crummy gloves.

The forth stanza has fourteen lines. The line lengths are quite uneven indicating the tenseness of the moment and its results on the mental state of the poetic persona. The poetic persona checks time four times within the course of the stanza. The stanza begins with the poetic persona checking time. Within the course of three stanzas one minute and forty seconds has passed. Only one minute and twenty seconds is remaining for the bomb to explode. Time is passing rapidly and the poetic persona is conscious of that. Every second decides life and death. Repeated references to the passage of time heightens tension. As soon as s/he has taken his/her eyes off the watch, s/he notices a girl, possibly someone very young, “with a green ribbon in her hair. Green as a colour stands for life and youth. The poetic persona’s view is of the girl being obstructed by the bus that stops in front of the bar. S/he is not sure whether she has gone into the bar or got on the bus. S/he almost callously states that both the reader and s/he would know “when they carry them out.” What s/he means here is that s/he would learn whether the girl has gone in or not when the bodies of the victims would be brought out after the explosion. The poetic person refers to the bodies of the victims as “they” – euphemism. Once again s/he checks time. Twenty seconds has passed and within that short time a person’s fate has been sealed. With a sense of relief, the poetic persona notices that no one goes in. In addition s/he notices “[a]other guy, fat, bald” walking out of the bar with relief and then becomes angry that he should sacrifice his life  with just twenty seconds to spare for the sake of getting his “crummy” gloves. The use of “crummy” to describe the gloves and “dumb” to describe girl illustrates the poetic persona’s concern for the safety of the man and the girl. He is frustrated to see these people walking into their death – and irrationally holds them responsible, ignoring the fact that they are unaware of what is going to happen soon. The anger of the poetic persona could be rooted in her/his inability to save them.  All the people the poetic persona sees are quite ordinary people who are in no way responsible for the grievances of the terrorist. They have to pay with their lives for the aspirations of the terrorist. The poet is raising a valid question about using violence to achieve sociopolitical objectives. Does one have the right to take away another person’s most fundamental right – the right to life – in order to realize his ambitions?  

Thirteen twenty exactly.
This waiting, it’s taking forever.
Any second now.
No, not yet.
Yes, now.
The bomb, it explodes.  

The last stanza has only 6 lines. Like the previous stanza, this too begins with a reference to time: “Thirteen twenty exactly”. Time seems to freeze. That moment seems to stand still. “This waiting,” the poetic persona says, “it’s taking forever”. He wants the explosion to be over and done with – which can be read as insensitivity. However, I would like to think that in his inability to interfere, he feels helpless. At this point, after observing for so long s/he has become emotionally involved with the victims and survivors of this tragedy – it’s too much for him/her. S/he wants closure. The two penultimate lines signal his mind moving back and forth between hope and despair. The last line of the poem - “The bomb, it explodes” – structurally echoes the title of the poem. The poem explores the irrationality and insensitivity of terrorism, the ethicality of using terrorism as a method to realize one objectives and transience of life. Another question raised in the poem is, whether what takes place in the poem – what the terrorist and his victims do – do they happen as a result of destiny or free will?  Szymborska is trying to get the reader to realize the fragility of life and destiny, how precious life is, and how even the smallest of decisions can change everything.

Critical reading

1.      In this poem, the poet presents a common event in contemporary society. How does he/ she make the reader feel it as a common/ familiar situation? A terrorist attack –

a.      conversational tone and lack of exclamation marks drawing attention to heightened feelings – one’s feelings are heightened if one is experiencing something that is extraordinary and rare

b.      use of the “we” to include the reader in the experience

c.      use of the phrase “just like movies”

d.      Everyone in the poem is nameless ordinary people and though time is mentioned repeatedly there is no reference to a specific date – this could happen to anyone, any day. 

e.      Using an ordinary place such as a bar for the setting  

2.      Is the poet conveying the idea that terrorism/ violence has become common in modern society? Yes

3.      What view of the terrorist is conveyed? The poet seems to feel that the terrorist is evil. She conveys this feeling by making the site of the act of terrorism a bar, a place community and good cheer, the victims are all ordinary people – men, women, children and teenagers – who just happen to be in the wrong place in the wrong time and for that “crime” they have to pay with their lives, instead of leaving the sight of massacre, the terrorist positions himself in a place out of danger and continues to watch the scene like a voyeur. He seems to enjoy the fact that he had power over life and death. 

4.      Does the poet convey the idea of destiny/ fate at any point – some are saved by chance? Others rush into fate?

The poet being a western Christian, the reader has to understand the worldview the poem promotes to be that of Christianity. Christianity privileges pre-destiny or design over free will – according to the Bible not even a sparrow would fall from the sky without God knowing about it. In that sense both the instigator and the victims of the bomb attack are enacting a divine plan. This takes free will/agency away from them. It is this sense of everyone being pawns in an invisible grand design that maddens the poetic persona. Through the sense of bewilderment felt by the poetic persona the poet conveys her own idea of the utter incomprehensibility of how destiny or fate operates in our lives.