the aluminium of evening clouds has faded away...

The poem O poecie [On the Poet] comes from a collection of sixteen sketches by Józef Czechowicz describing the members of the Lublin Society of Book Lovers, a cultural confraternity inspired by Father Ludwik Zalewski. The founding meeting took place on 18 June 1926 in Gebethner & Wolff's bookshop, located in the premises of Hotel "Europa" at 31 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street. Czechowicz was not present at this meeting (he was still working as a teacher in Włodzimierz Wołyński at the time), but his name is listed in the Society's Book of Minutes among the names of eight founding members. Moreover, in the years 1930-1932, the poet held the post of secretary of the Lublin Society of Book Lovers board.

It should be remembered that the author of Kamień [The Stone] had his bibliophilic interests awakened very early. The fact that he was in love with books, as Feliks Araszkiewicz said, is proven not only by the book collection he gathered, but also by his fascination with typography and great care for the visual side of the published poetry volumes; it was not a coincidence that he planned and prepared their graphic layout on his own. Czechowicz is also the author of articles on pedagogy, in which he emphasises the need to promote reading and love of beautiful books among schoolchildren.

A very valuable result of the poet's participation in the meetings and work of the Society of Book Lovers are the trifles "written with heart and humour", which can be regarded - as Jan Witan notes - "as a counterbalance to his catastrophic lyricism, staring at the horror of its time". By describing his friends from the bibliophile circle, including poets, journalists, publishers, booksellers and Polish literature researchers, the author creates a humorous portrait of literary life in Lublin between the wars. Czechowicz never print his trifles. They were published only in 1962 by the Lublin Publishing House.

The trifle O poecie is a self-portrait of the author of ballady z tamtej strony [The Ballads From That Side]. As Julian Krzyżanowski writes: "The wit of the four-line poem boils down to the statement that the opinion about the poet, proclaiming "the victory of pure form, the destruction of content", is in complete agreement with the state of his finances".