Sunday, March 26, 2017

Buchenwald (English version)








Buchenwald

gone
is the
beech forest

log houses
and
pieces of wood

November
lies heavy
without snow

cold
through marrow
and bone

roll call
in the cold
marrow & bone

some here
and the
others there

gone
is
Buchenwald



Buchenwald means beech forest. I grew up in Buchforst, a suburb of Cologne; Forst is another word for Wald - forest. I went to school in Buchheim. I went to the light beech forest of spring. I went through the leafy autumn forest. I read poems from the Bukowina (beech land). I saw the pictures of Buchenwald.

Original German text here:

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1 comment:

  1. I think I have to add something. "Pieces of wood" needs an explanation. Die original word in the German text is: Schheiter. A Scheit is a piece of wood, the plural in the South of Germany is Scheiter and Scheite in the North. If I use Scheiter, it is a hint at Scheiterhaufen - stake or pyre.

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