Epilogue

Summary

Social scientists are not alone in recognizing the breakdown of longstanding boundaries. Their analyses of the sources and consequences of these transformative developments are necessarily wide-ranging and elaborate, but the voice of the poet offers a succinct way of summarizing the deep and enduring implications of the changes. Hence it is appropriate to conclude this volume with the wisdom of a contemporary Polish poetess, Wislawa Szymborska.

PSALM

Oh, the leaky boundaries of man-made states!

How many clouds float past them with impunity;

how much desert sand shifts from one land to another;

how many mountain pebbles tumble onto foreign soil

in provocative hops!

Need I mention every single bird that flies in the face of frontiers

or alight on the roadblock at the border?

A humble robin – still, its tail resides abroad

while its beak stays home. If that weren't enough, it won't stop bobbing!

Among innumerable insects, I'll single out only the ant

between the border guard's left and right boots

blithely ignoring the questions “Where from?” and “Where to?”