A Statue of Socrates

by Nina Kossman

Apart from
everything that can be marred,
apart from the world,
and apart from peace
(both of which are mir in Russian),

apart from beauty
in the eyes of the curious,
together with stars
in the psyche’s sky;

here stands a statue
to the one who could fly
better than eagles,
birds of thought
(he said so himself more than once);

here he stands,
freer than all the mortals,
with invisible wings,
beholden to nothing,
except to the words he composed
for himself alone
and for butterflies which circle around his head.