The Polish poet Adam Zagajewski died last month. His most famous poem was “Try to Praise the Mutilated World”, which was printed in the New Yorker soon after 9/11 and skilfully mixed charming and morbid imagery:
Try to praise the mutilated world.
Remember June’s long days,
and wild strawberries, drops of rosé wine.
The nettles that methodically overgrow
the …