puzzle landscape

for Helga Cmelka

from the left corner of the picture
a butterfly
bursts the canvas
on the right top because the
format does not know any boundaries
the writing traces
a trail with itself
makes itself completely spirited
and legible the layers
of the colors oscillate
between yellow and red the sun
shines shimmering on the edge
of the square
sewn down with textile fibres
the words beam from all
directions accurately
and legendarily arranged
structures tug and tear
rooted out and churned up
within themselves

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer

vexier-landschaft

für Helga Cmelka

ein schmetterling
vom linken bildrand
sprengt die leinwand
rechts oben weil das
format keine grenzen
kennt zieht die schrift
eine spur mit sich
macht sich ganz schwunghaft
und leserlich die schichten
der farben oszillieren
zwischen gelb und rot scheint
die sonne an den rand
des quadrats geflattert
mit textilen fasern festgenäht
strahlen die wörter von allen
richtungen ganz genau
und sagenhaft eingerichtet
ziehen und zerren strukturen
aufgespürt und aufgewühlt
an sich

wishful thinking

if a fairy came
and granted me three wishes
i would immediately
know
one:

to have
with my grandfather
the father
of my father
an endless talk
about politics
socialism
free spirits
and other thinkers
perforce about
religion
god the universe & everything

it’s disgusting
that i never
met my grandfather
and that there are no good fairies

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer

abandoning the memory

when it will be irrevocably
too late
you will grasp
to void
wrap yourself in a dull
mourning coat
pin a rose or a bead to
your buttonhole
that will turn me into
resounding laughter
because I don’t give a shit
tossing a shovelful of sand
on you
giving the undertaker a tip
and raising my glass

Translated by the author

hazard

i would give a fortune
to know the truth
my right thumb
for your new love
and for every man
a finger
if there weren’t enough of them
my toes would be next
then i would be at a loss
could offer my arms
and both legs

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer

roma – amor

you are my compass
my passport in the desert
between roman stones
and egyptian stelae the
golden section of your figure
where infidels and saints
amor and roma consort
in the depth of the temple

thus i imagine
heaven and pay homage to
the curve of your bosom
anointed by our juices
a nursing maria
unwashed for two days

let us baste our love to
make it tender

Translated by Werner Richter

revolution

permanent change is called for
between you and me
revolution stirred up
every day anew
so as not to become rigid in routines and ruts
testing the state
of dependence
renew my feelings for you and
rather risk a cleft skull
like trotzky once
in support of theory

i am caesar who
subjugates new provinces
for the crown
putting an empire at stake

Translated by Werner Richter

manifold

a skyscraper collapses
somewhere houses burn
a bomb explodes and
the war does not end
other people die a natural death
they were well known
next to me a woman sleeps
and i write my credo
a thousand times i spray it on
walls stick it on trees
the gates of houses serve as blackboards
i scream my soul out of my body
forget what is going on around me
ignore the misery of the world
your picture in front of my eyes
a dull pain in my belly
you spin in my head
just because i am devoted to you
just like that
quite simply in many ways

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer

special offer

come and take
my thoughts
i give you my eyes
the flesh on my bones
is all i need to love you
take everything that belongs to you
just leave me my mouth
so i can whisper
your name

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer

20 kilos ago i stopped dancing

some want
to sleep with Kerouac
others rather with Bukowski
some prefer Ginsberg
or are crazy
about Capote
pine away for
Gide, Rimbaud, Verlaine –

in the meantime they doze lustlessly
somewhere
and masturbate until
their bad conscience runs
out of their spinal cord

or they cry
for fifteen minutes
the whole night
or even for months
without stopping the tears and snot

perhaps this is how
the great flood came about

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer

witches’ abc

the magic word
is
no longer
simsalabim
hocuspocus
abracadabra
or anything like that
but simply:
PR

Translated by Karoline Ruhdorfer