After Wislawa Szymborska’s poem of the same name, From “Nothing Twice”, 1997 Translated by S. Barańczak & C. Cavanagh and Liz Breslin’s response to the above.

I prefer going to Hollywood cinema

on Marriner St, to Netflix and chill.

No cats or dogs, I prefer native birds.

I prefer the space where the forest changes

to silver beech from fern in the depths

of Fiordland. I prefer O’Hara to Ginsberg.

I prefer Marmite. I prefer myself loving love

to myself obsessed with whether or not they’ll call.

I prefer keeping a hanky on hand, because

in my family we cry easily. I prefer to turn

my rings around three times if I glimpse

the full moon through glass, just in case.

I prefer marle and slippers with Wallace

Chapman on Sunday. I prefer not to maintain

the links in email chain letters. I prefer

the Possibles over the Probables.

I prefer to write it down. I prefer the real meme.

I prefer a letter. I prefer you in leather.

I prefer creative, non work-related

assignments. I prefer deviations.

I prefer the last minute dash to the airport.

I prefer the carpark to the waiting room.

I prefer the old songs to the new album.

I prefer the absurdity of writing poems

to the absurdity of not writing poems.

I prefer, where love’s concerned, to

speak the truth faster. I prefer the quick rip

of the sticking plaster.

I prefer the promise of frost; foraged cocktails;

getting lost over finding myself.

I prefer you to wake me up before you go-go.

I prefer Papa-tu-a-nuku to uphold me.

I prefer 72% cocoa. I prefer Badedas.

I prefer having some questions.

I prefer the columns to the headlines.

I prefer to be the one who leaves, rather than

the one who is left behind.

I prefer grating cheese to vacuuming.

I prefer Art Garfunkel’s Bright Eyes and Bonnie

Tyler’s turn around bright eyes, equally.

I prefer the cupboards closed and the windows open,

when sleeping. And when I sleep, I prefer to lie

diagonally. I prefer many things that I haven’t mentioned here

to many things I’ve also left unsaid.

I prefer not to know what’s coming.

I prefer Zero Cool and Zero Gravity to Zero Liability

I prefer to be doing a manual task outdoors

when bringing up difficult subjects.

I prefer to let fantails out the same way they came in.

I prefer keeping in mind every possibility

that begin, beni and bien are anagrams of being for a reason.