Adam Zagajewski’s "Balance" is a meditation on fleeting moments of clarity, the contrast between emptiness and fulfillment, and the return to the complexities of daily life. The poem captures a brief yet profound experience of equilibrium, where the speaker, suspended in midair, glimpses a state of peace and understanding—only for it to vanish upon reentry into the world. Zagajewski, known for his reflective and philosophical poetry, blends themes of travel, perception, and the transient nature of insight, suggesting that true balance is rare and momentary, a space between thought and oblivion. The opening lines introduce the setting and the speaker’s mental state:
"I watched the arctic landscape from above / and thought of nothing, lovely nothing."
The "arctic landscape from above" suggests an aerial view, possibly from an airplane, where the speaker observes the vast whiteness below. The phrase "thought of nothing, lovely nothing" is crucial—"nothing" here is not emptiness in a negative sense but rather a serene absence of distraction. This paradox—of finding beauty in nothingness—sets the tone for the poem’s exploration of balance as a momentary, ephemeral state. The word "lovely" suggests that this absence of thought is, in itself, a source of peace. The next lines reinforce the vastness and untouched quality of the scene:
"I observed white canopies of clouds, vast / expanses where no wolf tracks could be found."
The "white canopies of clouds" extend the sense of weightlessness and detachment, emphasizing an almost dreamlike setting. The detail that there are "no wolf tracks" suggests an absence of struggle, danger, or pursuit. Wolves, often symbolic of instinct, hunger, or survival, are missing from this landscape, reinforcing the idea that this space is pure, untouched, and devoid of human concerns. This sense of clarity shifts slightly as the speaker acknowledges personal thoughts:
"I thought about you and about the emptiness / that can promise one thing only: plenitude—"
Here, the poem introduces a paradox: emptiness as a promise of fullness. This line suggests that in moments of quiet or solitude, we encounter a different kind of abundance—not the material or intellectual clutter of daily life, but an expansive, existential plenitude. The poem proposes that certain "snowy wastelands"—both literal and metaphorical—are not barren but instead overflow with an almost ineffable happiness. The transition from aerial vastness to the world below begins in the next stanza:
"As we drew closer to our landing, / the vulnerable earth emerged among the clouds, / comic gardens forgotten by their owners, / pale grass plagued by winter and the wind."
The phrase "vulnerable earth" contrasts with the pristine, untouched whiteness seen earlier. The world below is imperfect, marked by human presence and abandonment. "Comic gardens forgotten by their owners" suggests a sense of neglect, as though human efforts to cultivate and control nature have been left behind. The "pale grass plagued by winter and the wind" reinforces a sense of struggle—unlike the untouched arctic landscape, the land below bears the marks of seasonal hardship and exposure. This shift from purity to imperfection signals the transition back to everyday existence. The moment of balance arrives briefly:
"I put my book down and for an instant felt / a perfect balance between waking and dreams."
This "perfect balance" is the poem’s central idea—an ephemeral harmony between consciousness and subconsciousness, between presence and detachment. The act of putting down a book suggests pausing from thought, allowing a direct encounter with the moment. This balance is fleeting, but it represents a rare clarity, a moment when reality and perception align. The landing, however, disrupts this harmony:
"But when the plane touched concrete, then / assiduously circled the airport's labyrinth, / I once again knew nothing."
Here, Zagajewski emphasizes how easily clarity is lost. The "plane touched concrete," signifying a return to reality, and the "airport’s labyrinth" suggests the structured, repetitive nature of human routines. The sense of wonder and balance dissipates, replaced by a return to the ordinary uncertainties of life. The final lines reinforce this return to daily existence:
"The darkness / of daily wanderings resumed, the day's sweet darkness, / the darkness of the voice that counts and measures, / remembers and forgets."
This "darkness" is not necessarily negative; it is described as "sweet," suggesting a familiar rhythm of thought and memory. The mention of "the voice that counts and measures" could refer to the mind’s habit of categorizing, organizing, and making sense of experience—contrasted with the earlier moment of pure perception. The final phrase, "remembers and forgets," encapsulates the ephemeral nature of insight. The speaker has experienced a brief moment of balance, but it is already slipping away, merging into the flow of ordinary thought. Zagajewski’s "Balance" is a meditation on the rare moments of harmony we encounter in life—those instances when we glimpse something larger, something beyond the daily cycle of remembering and forgetting. The poem suggests that these moments, though fleeting, are meaningful precisely because they are temporary. They offer a contrast to the routine complexities of life, reminding us of the possibility of clarity, even if only for an instant. Through its controlled, reflective tone and the careful interplay of imagery—from the vast emptiness of the arctic to the structured chaos of the airport—the poem captures the delicate tension between knowing and unknowing, presence and absence, waking and dreams.
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