A Prayer

Julian Tuwim

1920

I pray Thee O Lord
From all my heart,
O Lord! I pray to Thee.
With fervor and zeal,
For the sufferings of the humiliated,
For the uncertainty of those who wait;
For the non-return of the dead;
For the helplessness of the dying;
For the sadness of the misunderstood,
For those who request in vain;
For all those abused, scorned and disdained;
For the…
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Creator Bio

Julian Tuwim

1894–1953

Julian Tuwim was born into an assimilated Jewish family in Lódz. He studied law and philosophy in Warsaw, where he played an integral role in Polish modernist literary circles. In addition to writing poetry for children and adults, Tuwim was a lyricist, translator, and dramatist, active in the poetic group Skamander. Tuwim wrote exclusively in Polish and stressed his allegiance to Poland while downplaying his attachment to Judaism; in prewar years he was vilified by antisemites and tried to distance himself from Jewish culture. He lived in the United States during World War II and after the war returned to Poland, where he expressed deep sympathy for Jews who were killed in the Holocaust.

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