So he got back to Warsaw.
He had his passport confiscated.
One of the leaders of the new government,
was married to a woman who he had
dated when he was a young man.
And through her intercession, he got his passport back
and was assigned to Paris.
And he went to Paris and immediately
asked for political asylum and was gone.
His wife and child were still in the United States.
And it was two years before they were able to get back together.
He was in a pretty desperate condition.
And then at a certain point, he had written
the book about his defection.
And I'll finish with this poem called "Mittelbergheim."
He finally gets to take a vacation.
"Mittelbergheim."
"Wine sleeps in casks of Rhine Oak.
I'm awakened by the bell of a chapel in the vineyards
Of Mittelbergheim.
I hear a small spring
Trickling into a well in the yard, a clatter
Of wooden shoes in the street.
Tobacco drying
Under the eaves, and plows and wooden wheels
And mountain slopes and autumn are with me.
I keep my eyes closed.
Don't rush me,
You, fire, power, might, for it's too early.
I've lived through many years and, as in this half-dream,
I felt I was attaining the moving frontier,
Beyond which color and sound come true
And the things of this Earth are united.
Do not force me to open my lips,
Let me trust and believe I will find my way.
Let me linger here in Mittelbergheim.
I know I should.
They are with me,
Autumn and wooden wheels and tobacco hung
Under the eaves.
Here and everywhere
Is my homeland, wherever I turn
And is whatever language I would hear
The song of a child in, the conversation of lovers.
Happier than anyone, I am to receive
A glance, a smile, a star, silk creased
At the knee.
Serene, beholding,
I am to walk on hills, the soft glow of day
Over waters, cities, roads, human customs.
Fire, power, might, you who hold me
In the palm of your hand whose furrows
Are the immense gorges combed
By southern wind.
You who grant certainty
In the hour of fear, in the week of doubt,
It is too early, let the wine mature,
Let the travelers sleep in Mittelbergheim."
Alsace 1951.
So that's some of this book.
Thank you so much for listening. ( APPLAUSE)