I chopped off the wings of Icarus
But they grew back
Above the tower of my bones
I whipped my clay dreams
In a cage of thorns
But the next day
They rebelled in
The wild gardens of my soul
I took a ghost train
From the snow desert of
Frost bitten fragility
Among the phantoms of
Slick officers and by-gone ladies
I cut through foreign cities
Just to find their shadows here
I enslaved myself in the
Empty Scottish Highlands
To be reborn in a pure form
I knelt on the emerald moss
That used to kiss their dreams
To pray for the immortals that were
Forged among these holy trees
Finally Audley End became my second home
I fed my heart with the alien aura of its ponds
I bathed myself in its air
To ride the snake of fear
Fill the uneasy rivers of my blood
With the ancient gods’ might
To transform every muscle of me
Into wild animals’ machinery
To feel the heartbeat of oblivion
I ran every inch of pain
Together with Marathon man
Then I took a slide
Down the Gladius’ blade of bravery
I stood naked
Stroking the tigers of immortality
At dawn I dreamt the Spartan dream
Feeling immaculate freedom
In these Scottish Highlands
03.07.2018,
Bialystok city, Poland
Dedicated to the Polish “Silent Unseen” commandos who fought to save the Free World from the two deadliest regimes in the world history – German Nazi Third Reich and the Bolshevik Soviet Russia.
Cichociemni (the “Silent Unseen”) were elite special-operations paratroops of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland (Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej).
Altogether 2,613 Polish Army soldiers volunteered for training by Polish and British SOE operatives. Only 606 people completed the training, and eventually 316 of them were secretly parachuted into occupied Poland. The first operation (“air bridge”, as it was called) took place on 15 February 1941. This operation was conducted by Captain Józef Zabielski, Major Stanisław Krzymowski and political courier Czesław Raczkowski. After 27 December 1944 further operations were discontinued, as by then most of Poland had been occupied by the Red Army.
Of 316 Cichociemni, 103 perished during the war: in combat with the Germans, executed by the Gestapo, or in crashes. A further nine were executed after the war by the Polish People’s Republic. Altogether 91 operatives took part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. They were the first true commandos in the history of warfare.
The training established by the General Staff’s Section VI (Oddział VI Sztabu Naczelnego Wodza) and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) comprised five courses:
• physical-conditioning course (kurs zaprawowy)
• psychological and technical course (kurs badań psychotechnicznych)
• parachuting course (kurs spadochronowy)
• covert-operations course (kurs walki konspiracyjnej)
• final course (kurs odprawowy)
During the first phase of training, all the volunteers were taught to use every kind of weapon (British, Polish, German, Russian and Italian weapons) and mines. In additional courses, the soldiers were trained in basic covert operations, topography, cryptography, and sharpshooting. They were also taught details of life in occupied Poland, from German-imposed laws to current fashions in occupied Warsaw. The fourth course included all kinds of covert operations, jujitsu, and shooting at invisible targets. The final course included learning a new, false identity. All soldiers who passed the training were sworn in as members of the Home Army. Their motto was:” Fight Freedom for Poland or die”. After the II WW they fought against the Soviets in occupied Poland
Dedicated to the Polish “Silent Unseen” commandos who fought to save the Free World from the two deadliest regimes in the world history – German Nazi Third Reich and the Bolshevik Soviet Russia.
Cichociemni (the “Silent Unseen”) were elite special-operations paratroops of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland (Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej).
Altogether 2,613 Polish Army soldiers volunteered for training by Polish and British SOE operatives. Only 606 people completed the training, and eventually 316 of them were secretly parachuted into occupied Poland. The first operation (“air bridge”, as it was called) took place on 15 February 1941. This operation was conducted by Captain Józef Zabielski, Major Stanisław Krzymowski and political courier Czesław Raczkowski. After 27 December 1944 further operations were discontinued, as by then most of Poland had been occupied by the Red Army.
Of 316 Cichociemni, 103 perished during the war: in combat with the Germans, executed by the Gestapo, or in crashes. A further nine were executed after the war by the Polish People’s Republic. Altogether 91 operatives took part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. They were the first true commandos in the history of warfare.
The training established by the General Staff’s Section VI (Oddział VI Sztabu Naczelnego Wodza) and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) comprised five courses:
- physical-conditioning course (kurs zaprawowy)
- psychological and technical course (kurs badań psychotechnicznych)
- parachuting course (kurs spadochronowy)
- covert-operations course (kurs walki konspiracyjnej)
- final course (kurs odprawowy)
During the first phase of training, all the volunteers were taught to use every kind of weapon (British, Polish, German, Russian and Italian weapons) and mines. In additional courses, the soldiers were trained in basic covert operations, topography, cryptography, and sharpshooting. They were also taught details of life in occupied Poland, from German-imposed laws to current fashions in occupied Warsaw. The fourth course included all kinds of covert operations, jujitsu, and shooting at invisible targets. The final course included learning a new, false identity. All soldiers who passed the training were sworn in as members of the Home Army. Their motto was:” Fight Freedom for Poland or die”. After the II WW they fought against the Soviets in occupied Poland.
