over two billion people
these days are waiting to commemorate
the birth of one whom they consider
humankind‘s savior

it happened more than 2000 years ago

since then it has not really been established
from what he has saved us

looking at our history
does not help much either

maybe this is a good thing
such indeterminacy can be quite uplifting

after all
who does not like to be saved?

there is
a very fine line
between
news and nuisance

in our time
we think we know
most animals of the world
from films and videos

yet
seeing
an echidna come out of the underbrush
about to cross the road
but then
    looking at all the cameras
deciding to quietly go back home for a while

watching
a young humpback whale
launch her tons out of the sea
in the sheer joy of breaching
falling back in a white splash
that sends your boat rocking

feeling
the hard back of a wombat
    under its thick coat of hair
the soft fur of a koala
the cool skin of a blue-tongued lizard

feeding
a wallaby whose sharp claws
tenderly hold your hand
so that the food
            does not go away too soon

hearing
the swelling maniacal laughter
     of a flock of kookaburras
a pied butcherbird‘s
     unbelievably melodious call
    
you become aware
they are living beings
     not just images on the screen

and the little hairs
    on the back of your neck
    rise
    in shock and awe
of life‘s beauty

look at nature
with the lover‘s eye
not the hunter‘s

the night in which
the dead come alive for a while

only to be frightened back to their graves
by the horrible masks and spectacles
of the living

some people make you seriously wonder
    about
what makes them tick so brazenly
    against
all values they supposedly hold high

     is it a tunnel vision
     of greedy individuality?

    a dangerous mix
    of arrogance, innocence, ignorance?

    or are they simply overwhelmed
    with unexpectedly gained power
    mistake the votes of people
    for a mandate to play god?

unknown may be the causes
but the results are clear

if you preach water but drink wine
throw precious pearls before swine
say things today that you deny tomorrow

folks may still listen to your words
but do no longer follow the meaning
of perma-hype that makes no sense

sooner or later
they‘ll simply stop listening

the daily media overkill
with the bad news of
     who killed whom and why
     which politicians and religious leaders
         believe in boundless self-aggrandizement
         endangering world peace and understanding
         do not believe in global warming
         treat people like the pawns in chess
         et cetera, et cetera

at times offers me almost irresistible temptations
to turn my back onto the world in sheer disgust
      retreat into my armchair, just with myself
      avoid involvement in the chaos, let life go by
      like muppets quipping from the balcony
      at a safe distance

yet my heart is bleeding

in my striving for a better world
I only have my words
and my belief they can inspire change
     when spoken clearly and with force

when I keep silent
I let others speak for me
in tongues that are not mine