During literature classes with prof. Agata Buda at Casimir Pulaski University of Radom, Poland, the students of the 2nd year of English philology presented their own interpretations of the novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens, presenting the Industrial Revolution and its influence on the lives of the British in the 19th century. Among the presentations there were, among others, the picture interpretation - the book seen through the eyes of a child, various images of two contrasting worlds depicted by the great writer, as well as the poem written by one of the students.

In Coketown’s streets of smoke and grime by Kacper Toporek

In Coketown’s streets of smoke and grime,

Where the wheels of industry mark the time,

Facts rule the heart, cold and austere,

Chaining the soul in logic’s sphere.

"Teach nothing but facts," the masters proclaim,

"Imagination's folly is a dangerous flame."

Sleek machines churn, unfeeling, precise,

And human joy becomes the price.

But in the cracks of this rigid domain,

The world of dreams begins to strain.

A child’s soft laugh, a flicker of art,

A whisper of love breaks the factual heart.

Oh, Sissy Jupe, with your wondrous lore,

You bring the color to facts' gray core.

Your dreams bloom where reason fails,

Weaving life’s beauty in fairy tales.

Yet, Gradgrind marches, his ledger in hand,

Measuring worth in numbers and land.

"Imagination is folly," he says with disdain,

But his own heart knows a quiet pain.

For dreams and facts are not foes at war;

Together they shape what we reach for.

The gears of truth, the wings of desire,

Build a world both stable and inspired.

So let Coketown’s chimneys cast their shade,

But never forget where dreams are made.

In the quiet of thought, in a child’s wide eyes,

In the boundless heavens where freedom lies.