<szymborska's "beheading"> 2004-08-09.7:05 p.m. Beheading Wislawa Szymborska translated from the Polish by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh D�colletage comes from decollo, decollo means I cut off at the neck. The Queen of Scots, Mary Stuart, ascended the scaffold in an appropriate shift. The shift was d�collet� and red as a hemorrhage. At that very moment, in a secluded chamber, Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England, stood at the window in a white dress. The dress was triumphantly fastened to the chin and finished in a starched ruff. They thought in unison: "Lord, have mercy on me" "Right is on my side" "Living means getting in the way" "Under certain circumstances the owl is the baker's daughter" "This will never end" "It is already over" "What am I doing here, there's nothing here" The difference in dress--yes, this we know for sure. The detail is unyielding. back /& forth /& frosting names are often sad