Urszula Honek

“Summer with Monika” translated from Polish by Scotia Gilroy
June 25, 2025 Honek Urszula

summer with Monika

 

we spent the days lying on the hot asphalt, fleeing
whenever a car approached. in the evenings we went
to a muddy pond that never produced any fish.
Mirek and Janek’s clothes were heavy with water.
Monika’s eyelids were painted blue. eyeliner accentuates
the colour of the iris and makes eyes seem bigger, she said.
we cared more about kisses than death.

 

 

*

 

 

wakacje z Moniką

 

we dnie leżeliśmy na rozgrzanym asfalcie i uciekaliśmy przed
nadjeżdżającymi samochodami. wieczorami chodziliśmy
nad zamulony staw, w którym nie udało się wyhodować żadnej ryby.
Mirek i Janek mieli ciężkie od wody ubrania.
Monika miała pomalowane na niebiesko powieki. kreska podkreśla
kolor tęczówki i powiększa oczy, mówiła.
pocałunki obchodziły nas bardziej niż śmierć.

Urszula Honek (born in 1987) is a Polish poet and prose writer. She has written four books of poetry and one short story collection. In Poland, she has won the Grand Prix of the Rainer Maria Rilke Poetry Competition, the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature Award, the Adam Włodek Award and the Stanisław Barańczak Award. For her short story collection, Białe noce, she was nominated for the International Grand Continent Award, the Witold Gombrowicz Literary Award, and Polityka’s Passport Award. In 2023, she won both the Conrad Award and the Kościelski Award, which is given to the most promising Polish writer under the age of 40. The English edition of her short story collection, titled White Nights (translated by Kate Webster), was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2024. She is from Racławice, near Gorlice.