The daughter of a famous painter, Maria Pawlikowska Jasnorzewska grew up in the historic city of Krakow. Critics say she brought Polish lyrical poetry to 'Japanese flower arrangement' perfection. Love and passion, which permeated her poetry, was something new at the time when her first works appeared in the 1920s. She spent WWII in the UK until her death in 1945. But before she died of cancer, she had left behind a poignant account of her struggle against her terminal disease.