The end of the world

There is a place in Poland, on the edge of the Lublin Highland that offers views so dramatic that "the locals" (who include myself, in the summer) call it "the end of the world". It's a perfect place for wonder and contemplation, even more so if you've had the luck of being there on your own. No photo can convey the experience of standing on the edge, looking at the brook below, the fields and the flatlands, stretching till the distant mountain range, visible only at very clear skies. That mountain range on the horizon (Góry Świętokrzyskie) is a new beginning - a rare priviledge if you notice it. 

The end of the world inevitably brings to my mind the poem by Czeslaw Milosz announcing that there will be no other end of the world, but your own (http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19195). No fanfares, no spectacular disasters,  no "lightning and thunder", just a little end of the world - your own departure. Unnoticed by the general public - the universe. The poem's exquisite - but I'm not so sure as to its message. First of all, I've been deeply troubled by "Melancholia" by Lars van Triers, and secondly, there are lots of other "ends of the world", some of which can even be visited.

Last time I was there, on a hot afternoon in the beginning of May, I noticed "my" end of the world has been reserved. The path leading to the edge was decorated with a red "Nature's Reserve" sign. Signs and names do take away some of the magic. Mr. Shakespeare, sorry to disagree. The end of the world smells much sweeter than "Nature's Reserve".

All that poetry brings me to my brother, whom I adore, among others for his strong views on poetry. "Why do I have to guess now what the poet wanted to say? Why didn't he just say what he wanted to say in a straightforward manner?" I often heard him saying this when he struggled with the course in literature at his secondary school. I think I would now be able to reply to that question: "That's for the same reason why they'd better not put the "Nature's Reserve" sign at the end of the world.