What Was Joseph Brodsky Trying to Tell Us?

What Was Joseph Brodsky Trying to Tell Us?

He was trying to tell us — in the words attributed to Vanga —
“We come into this world naked, and naked we leave it.”
That alone should remind people that there are no pockets in a coffin.
It should move us toward compassion, toward mutual help, toward unity and support — because we are all in the same boat.
That is what the great poet wanted to say.
He wanted to convey one essential thought:
in this brief world, respect from one human being to another is vital;
the freedom of each person is sacred;
and the value of a human life — a value that, in Russia, has become almost entirely devalued — must never be forgotten.
Joseph Brodsky wanted to tell us that this is the central tragedy of Russia’s political and social life:
rudeness, mockery, arrogance, indifference, and the sense of superiority of some over others are not only unacceptable — they violate the very design of the Creator.
Life here, he seemed to suggest, is not paradise, not comfort, but suffering.
And we are all equal before death — the same death, inevitable for everyone.
This is a game with one ending, a one-way journey.
And that ending is death — into which no stolen possessions can be stuffed, no accumulated junk can be taken, because there are no pockets in a coffin.
This is what the great genius wanted to bring to all of us.
— G.