The poem, Terrorist, He's watching written by Wizlawa Szymborska describes the countdown of a terrorist who planted a bomb in a bar, a place were common people gather. Through this poem , port contrasts the behavior of a terrorist watching impatiently till the blast of implanted bomb and the behavior of he common society with a set of people who are waiting in the mouth of death and pain.
" The bomb in the bar will explode in thirteen twenty
Now it's just thirteen sixteen
There's still time for some to go in
and some to come out"
1 st stanza of poem describes the describes the countdown of a terrorist who planted a bomb in a bar in a bar of local people. According to the terrorist in three minutes , the bomb is going to explode. However there is still three minutes for anyone to decide his unpredictable fate. Within the next three minutes one can go inside the bar to kill himself and and one can go out of it and hank the god for rescue himself because only god can decide who is to kill and who is to rescue.
"The terrorist has already crossed the street
The distance keeps him out of danger
and what a view - just like the movies"
Narrator reveals that the terrorist has already gone to the other side if the street. He keeps a safe distance between bar and himself. The narrator also should be another terrorist to describe the crime so smoothly and excitedly. He predicts the upcoming tragedy defining it as a movie. For a terrorist its just another blast and crime. For the ones who face it it's painful and deadly and for the society it's a everlasting pain and loss.
"A woman in a yellow jacket she's coming in
A man in dark glasses he's coming out
Teen-agers in jeans , they're talking
Thirteen seventeen and four seconds
The short one , he's lucky, he's getting on a scooter
but the tall one he's going in"
Poet contrasts between fortunate and unfortunate. The woman who comes in has to sacrifice her life but the man who is going out of it is fortunate .He is able to rescue his life.' A woman, A man The short one and The tall one ' symbolizes the local society and its people. Terrorists have no idea about the victims of bomb blast . They do not have a targeted one , a powerful, a politician or a rich. But they have aimed the innocent common. " Teenagers in jeans' also implies the locality and innocence of youth. They ere not doing something nasty or destructing , but just talking. Again narrator countdown the time for the blast. Within a few seconds the bomb is going to decide the life and death of a certain set of people in the society.
Thirteen seventeen and forty seconds,
that girl, she 's walking alone with a green ribbon in her hair,
But then a bs suddenly pulls in front of her,
Thirteen eighteen
The girl's gone.
Was she that dumb, did she go in or not,
we'll see when they carry them out.
View of narrator or the accomplice of the crime is subjected into a subtle change. He describes about a young girl. 'Green ribbon' implies the innocence and youth. Narrator expects the the girl to go into the bar suddenly a bus distracts the view. Accomplice reduces his idea through the idea of " we'll see, when they carry them out ". "They " is referred to the policemen. Definitely after the blast he would be able to check whether she had gone to the bar or not. Terrorism believe human being as worthless and lifeless, mere objects.
Thirteen nineteen,
Somehow no ne going in,
Another guy, fat, bald, is leaving though,
Wait a second, looks like he's looking for something in his pockets and
and thirteen twenty minus six seconds
he goes back in for his crummy gloves
Only one minute is left for the blast to take place. A guy, fat bald is fortunate enough to leave the bar. Suddenly he waits and checks something in his pockets. His fate doesn't seem to let him live. he goes back inside the bar for his forgotten gloves. The word crummy implies the uselessness of the reason for him to go back. But his fate had already decided his death, he cannot control it.
Thirteen twenty exactly,
This taking, it's taking forever
any second now,
No ,not yet.
Yes, now,
The bomb, it explodes.
Narrator describes the last few moments before the blast in a cinematic nature. Terrorists are so exited to experience the blast as the little children are excited towards something. A countdown for the blast can be seen throughout the poem. At the end of it, without leaving a doubt the bomb , planted in the bar engulfs a set of innocent local community. The conflict between time and incidents can be seen throughout the whole poem.