I try to make myself
an enchanted ring
like a jeweler's filigree
and attach tiny road signs
as though in contrast
to the pompous Brandenburg Gate
or the rich Reichstag Building and the Museum
that dwarfed me.
Unable to summarize the great
decisions in Villa Veneza
take no comfort in the destruction
of the Cathedral in the heart of Berlin,
where pansies bloom
in irritating symmetry.
Even the wind won't move anything,
stability presides all over the city;
only the walls have come down
and I don't know whether to go
to Dachau or Sachsenhausen
to find the ashes of my loved ones.
If only I could rub the ring
or Alladin's lamp
I try to make myself
an enchanted ring
like a jeweler's filigree
and attach tiny road signs
as though in contrast
to the pompous Brandenburg Gate
or the rich Reichstag Building and the Museum
that dwarfed me.
Unable to summarize the great
decisions in Villa Veneza
take no comfort in the destruction
of the Cathedral in the heart of Berlin,
where pansies bloom
in irritating symmetry.
Even the wind won't move anything,
stability presides all over the city;
only the walls have come down
and I don't know whether to go
to Dachau or Sachsenhausen
to find the ashes of my loved ones.
If only I could rub the ring
or Alladin's lamp
and make a wish
that it was all a dream.
and make a wish
that it was all a dream.