"leipzig" poems
*Beethoven once said of the cantor of Leipzig
“Not a stream but an ocean.”*
Sebastian Bach wove sonic tapestries
and scoffed at notions of genius
“Anyone who pays the price can do it.”
Whether for Sunday’s choir or *****
or for a palace fete of state,
The fountains of his bounteous spring
embellished every age and station.
Yet he could crack a joke or two
in a cantata to coffee’s pleasures -
sipping from a sturdy cup
of nature's matchless brew.
Flutists, fiddlers, singers, organists,
children and masters alike,
have netted hearty sustenance
from the seas of his boundless vision.
But modesty forbade him boast
the importance of his station -
affixing to his noblest works,
a trio of humblest words,
“Soli Deo Gloria.”
December, 2007
Sep 20, 2013
Sep 20, 2013 at 3:40 PM UTC
At Austerlitz I two nations vanquished;
making me historically distinguished.
At Marengo I had Austria subdued;
then I was to honour undoubtedly glued.
At the Pyramids, Mamluks kissed the sands;
then like a French Pharaoh I annexed their lands.
At Jena-Auerstadt, Prussia to her knees fell,
to avoid carnage, and possibly hell.
At Borodino, Kutuzov my boots licked,
as his Russian forces had their arses kicked.
At Ligny, Blucher like a coward fled,
as his smitten forces profusely bled.
At Toulon I first distinguished myself
for a career that would exalt oneself.
Rolica, Leipzig, Waterloo like curses came,
but history will forever my triumphs reclaim.
Dec 4, 2022
Dec 4, 2022 at 7:16 AM UTC
a city old in trades,
in cultivation of the arts
based on industrious commerce
of its citizens who boast
the world's oldest commercial fair
the city in which
Martin Luther and Melanchthon
led fierce disputes
with delegations of the Pope
where J. S. Bach found stimulus
and time to master
harmony and rhythm
close to perfection,
(and that was shocked listening
to Leibniz's monadologies),
the city of which
Goethe spoke with praise,
that saw Napoleon defeated
on the nearby battlefield
(and built a monument of quite
imposing ugliness one hundred years
after the fact),
this city suffered hard
from two world wars
followed by over forty years
of dreams gone sour of a new society,
until, most recently,
this city once again
became a catalyst of major change.
Yet those who kept their meetings
at St. Niklas' church
and by their stubborn protest
helped to reunite
a country separated by walls for generations -
those you don't see,
walking the streets of Leipzig now.
What strikes the eye
(besides the crumbling blackened ruins
of former glory,
and strip-mined land
just out of town)
is Wall Street's new frontier,
the bustling peddlers of new easy wealth
as they appear on every street downtown,
offering anything from oranges
to shoes and South Pacific cruises.
Ramshackled pre-fabs built on shabby parking lots
already stake the claims of big banks,
business and insurance companies
that promise earnings, safety and security
to eager though bewildered customers.
"Pecunia non olet" says the poster
of the postal savings bank,
and shows a happy pig
rooting in money.
Old stores, in order to survive,
have started selling
new and shiny goods
to happy new consumers,
only a few resist
and hesitate to walk a mile
for the melange of
fast food, cigarettes and *****
offered at makeshift stands
that seem have come
to symbolize the great new freedom
of the new Wild East.
* * *
Mar 27, 2015
Mar 27, 2015 at 4:05 PM UTC
simply a girl
imagine being called karin ulbricht
imagine being a student
imagine being unhappy
imagine demonstrating in leipzig
imagine it was early november 1989
imagine being arrested
imagine girls separated from boys
imagine being taken to the barracks
imagine that this was east germany
imagine it was the cold war
imagine that you were ******* terrified
imagine you were defiant
imagine you wanted to change things
imagine that you actually did
imagine that you were just a girl
imagine that you were the girl
imagine that you are her
imagine that you stood against the whole communist world
imagine that this was you
imagine that you helped knock the berlin wall down...
Jan 18, 2018
Jan 18, 2018 at 11:12 PM UTC
MEPHISTOPHELES [with a solemn gesture].
False word and shape compel
Mind and space by this spell!
Be here, be there as well!
[They stop in astonishment and stare at each other.]
ALTMAYER. Where am I? What a wonderland.
Feb 13, 2014
Feb 13, 2014 at 3:48 PM UTC
A C H T U N G
acht neun acht sechs vier fünf zwo
sechs drei eins fünf sieben acht null
the radio spews over and over again
void of meaning. or so they want
us to think as the concrete wall
keeps standing. they came to liberate us
which they did. of thought of speech
of word. see the ashen blocks sit
aren’t they pretty? as dark red blotches
stain their smooth surfaces like lipstick on
wine glasses. an old fan turns slowly
in a dusty room just south of
Leipzig. men dream of hazy Stalinist façades
as she brings a cigarette to her
rouged lips. Belomorkanal. the rusted olive uniform
pulls tighter as she draws in. octaves
bellow from the speakers. it is time
to hear from the homeland. how sickles
gleam for the Union just like they
did for Lenin. we don’t talk about
him now though. sickles don’t gleam here
like they ought to. the reels revolve
unforgiving to the cry of a winter’s
night. the ruby snow glints in torchlight.
the night goes on. it has to.
sieben sechs vier zwo neun drei sechs
eins sieben null sechs acht fünf sieben
E N D E
May 13, 2013
May 13, 2013 at 8:49 PM UTC
In seventeen sixty nine a child was born
in Corsica, Genoa's former vassal state.
Prior to his birth, his land had been war-torn,
Paoli's resistance did his birth predate.
At school, his geometrical talent was inborn,
and he was tutored by none other than Laplace.
For his accent, his peers at school laughed him to scorn,
but fortune would elevate him from grass to grace.
With his much older heartthrob he tied the knot;
much to the chagrin of his own dear family.
For the heart of Josephine he relentlessly fought,
and at Chateau de Malmaison they lived happily.
Later he would choose a military career
that would take him beyond the Corsican frontier.
France's revolution saw to his glorious rise,
when at Toulon, he took royalists by surprise.
To Egypt he led a dual expedition
of a military and scientific mission.
To France he returned and sacked the directory,
taking charge of the affairs of state and treasury.
Europe did contend with him in seven coalitions;
at Austerlitz he subjugated two nations,
at Marengo, Austria on her bended knees fell,
at Jena-Auerstadt, Prussia to victory bade farewell.
At Borodino, Russia met her nemesis,
as her vanquished forces saw their paralysis.
At Ligny, Blucher like a beaten canine fled
with the terribly smitten forces he once led.
Portugal's sovereign lord to distant Brazil ran,
when like an invincible lord he came to his realm.
The emperor he feared, and made no military plan;
thus he paved the way for him to ascend his helm.
But despite his triumphs, his weakness was exposed.
At Rolica, his troops a major set back saw.
From Leipzig he did to Elba's island withdraw,
from whence in 1815 he returned unopposed.
Russia's wintry plains did his grand armee deplete,
making his troops vulnerable to a future defeat.
After the famous battles in which he gloried,
his great ambition at Waterloo was buried.
Feb 17, 2023
Feb 17, 2023 at 7:54 PM UTC