I’m a tranquilizer.
I’m effective at home.
I work in the office.
I can take exams
on the witness stand.
I mend broken cups with care.
All you have to do is take me.
Let me melt beneath your tongue,
just gulp me
with a glass of water.

I know how to handle misfortune,
how to take bad news.
I can minimize injustice,
or pick the widow’s veil that suits your face.
Let me have your abyss.
I’ll cushion it with sleep.

Part of a Poem by Wislawa Szymborska