The swallows fly and chirp. They share jokes about men and women. Sex is a joy. Repeating the same jokes century after century, they collect contributions to the history of joy. They chance upon a battlefield that has never known peacetime. There is tacit agreement concerning a territory that has never been and never will be liberated, that anyone can conquer and where, to this day, anyone is allowed to do whatever they like. A ploughed-up field. A stretch of black, fertile soil. It is the body of one who is weaker. Filing a lawsuit against the victor is absurd.
The swallows fly, their wisdom nourished only by powerful doubts. And as long as they live, they remain true to their nature.
— Radka Denemarková: A Contribution to the History of Joy
Translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood
Photo by Lucie Zajíčková