In Praise of Self-Deprecation

The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with.
Scuples are alien to the black panther.
Piranhas do not doubt the righteousness of their actions.
The rattlesnake approves of himself without reservations.

The self-critical jackal does not exist.
The locust, alligator, trichina, horsefly
live as they live and are glad of it.

The killer whale's heart weighs one hundred kilos
but in other respects it is light.

There is nothing more animal-like
than a clear conscience
on the third planet of the Sun.

-Wisława Szymborska