So much responsibility in place of a vanished tail

Fra Dinosaur Egg til Dinosaur Skeleton. Her er Szymborskas dikt i engelsk oversettelse, oversatt av Barańczak og Cavanagh. Dette og mange andre av hennes dikt kan man finne på google books. 

Dinosaur Skeleton
Beloved Brethren, 
we have before us an example of incorrect proportions.  

Behold! the dinosaur skeleton’s looms above –   

Dear Friends, 
on the left we see the tail trailing into one infinity,  

on the right, the neck juts into another – 

  
Esteemed Comrades,  

in between, four legs that finally mired in the slime  

beneath this hillock of a trunk –   

Gentle Citizens,  

nature does not err, but it loves its little joke:  

please note the laughably small head –   

Ladies, Gentleman,  

a head this size does not have room for foresight,  

and that is why its owner is extinct –   

Honored Dignitaries,  

a mind too small, an appetite too large,  

more senseless sleep than prudent apprehension –   

Distinguished Guests,  

we’re in far better shape in this regard,  

life is beautiful and the world is ours –   

Venerated Delegation,  

the starry sky above the thinking reed  

and moral law within it –   

Most Reverend Deputation,  

such success does not come twice  

and perhaps beneath this single sun alone –   

Inestimable Council,  

how deft the hands,  

how eloquent the lips,  

what a head on these shoulders –   

Supremest of Courts,  

so much responsibility in place of a vanished tail –