American Ognisko

Saturday 18 September 2021 | general

1 Comment

  1. You titled this post well. In two words, you remind us that a Polish ognisko is something altogether unique. I’m sure K knows this song —

    P?onie ognisko i szumi? knieje,
    Dru?ynowy jest w?ród nas.
    Opowiada starodawne dzieje,
    Bohaterski wskrzesza czas.

    O rycerstwie spod kresowych stanic,
    O obro?cach naszych polskich granic,
    A ponad nami wiatr szumny wieje,
    I d?bowy huczy las

    I goes on, with lyrics that are complicated, but known to every child, at least of my generation.

    Perhaps that is all we had in those days — the bond of friendship around a campfire. It is what the cult of (so called) individual freedom completely lacks: that understanding of a shared fate that we learned to respect around a campfire.