[rocking the cradle]

Józef Czechowicz's poem for children kołyszę kołyskę [I Rock the Cradle] was first published in Tygodnik Powszechny in 1964 (No. 39). It is worth noting the work of the Lublin poet from addressed to a young audience, as it constitutes an important item in his literary output. It is connected to the author's professional activity, who worked as a teacher in Lublin, and between 1933 and 1936 was employed in Warsaw in the Publishing Department of the Polish Teachers' Union; he edited magazines for children, young people and teachers: "Płomyczek", "Głos Nauczycielski", "Miesięcznik Literatury i Sztuki".

He printed his works for children mainly in "Płomyk" and "Płomyczek", usually signing his pseudonym Henryk Zasławski. We know that the author wanted to collect them and publish them in a separate book. It was the opinion of Michalina Śliwicka, Czechowicz's friend, who, looking through part of his legacy (taken over by Wacław Mrozowski) after the poet's death, found in it "a volume of poetry for children that had been prepared for publication". Also Czesław Miłosz, in his essay Czechowicz to jest o poezji między wojnami [Czechowicz Is About Poetry Between the Wars], claims that the author of Kamień [The Stone] had such plans: "One day he wanted to collect in a book poems and songs for the youngest, which he printed in "Płomyczek" in a book. I had this manuscript in my hand during the occupation, but it must have been destroyed. Ewa Łoś, the author of the volume Utwory dla dzieci [Works for Children], published in 2013 as part of Pisma zebrane [The Collected Writings], adds that confirmation of the author's plans for the nuta człowiecza [human note] can be found in yet another place. In Tygodnik Ilustrowany of 1934 (No. 51/52), under the column with Czechowicz's poems for the youngest there is an information, probably given by the poet "From a volume of poems for children Różne kolory [Various Colours] being prepared".

Jan Orłowski, among others, points to the artistic values of this poetry: "Czechowicz's poems for children are characterised by versification variety, a wealth of poetic means of expression, melodiousness, homeliness of subject matter, the use of folk poetic motifs. This makes him an original author who has broken with the easy-going nature of children's literature [...] Czechowicz did not write cheap and simple poems for children, he created for them an enchanted, poetic world".