picture the world

in black and white

- what a relief that would be


now I´m not thinking

of good or bad

just autumn sky

with autumn clouds

and the colour of the North Sea


no forty shades of green

no sixty shades of red

- just there or not there, you and me


talking sense

or nonsense

you playing the piano

me putting words on paper

or no words

- no words at all.

----------------------

Springtime Revisited


This pre-Easter mild expectancy

in the wintry air

reminds me of my youth:

new clothes, old friends with naked knees

and lederhosen running in the street

and me, standing on the kerbstone,

simultaneously afraid of and keen on

joining the rout.

Whereas the fields are still

barren and February-like

the first green growing

in the sheltered garden

announces that nature´s hibernation

will end soon.

I yawn, stretch my legs and smile

anticipating long walks and bike tours,

kayaking and picnics with the family.

-------------------------------------------------

The Snowline


I´ve got to let go

of the starched linen

in my pregnant wife´s sickbed

the winter air must cool me

off from her fever


the engine is cold

but I step on the accelerator

leaving the grey hospital yard

for the white lines

of the motorway


somewhere nearer the mountains

the rain turns into sleet

and I change into

the fast lane

eyes burning into the white


I´m driving on squinting

until I find the snowline

to bury myself

in that innocent shroud

before I return.

-------------------

Instant Before the Rain


the instant before the rain

you´re standing in

the open door

the leaves already shaking

and you allow yourself

one tranquil moment


taking it all in:

the garden in full bloom

brown fields so far from barren

summer in a mild climate

and you in the middle


but thunder´s waiting

behind the forest

or in this cloud

and it will shake you too

yet you won´t listen to

the voice inside

its warning


till the door slams shut

and you´re marooned outside

on the balcony:

your island in the rain.