something can hit you
upset your life
destroy you daily routine
make you aware
of the fragility of life

and of the statistically proven fact
     rarely ackkowledged
that bad things may also happen to you
not only to others

there is an American billionaire
who looks quite flamboyant and debonnaire
he was leading the race
for Republicans’ ace
and ******* his competitors everywhere
(unfortunately)

before we elect politicians
they present themselves full of ambitions
when elections are over
they go under cover
and blame others for their demolitions

the time we spend in doing things
we think are necessary
with hindsight may appear like idle play
wasting a precious part of the allotment
we have been given on this earth

the problem is we do not know

and so we take the risk and muddle on
trying to do our best
hoping it will not be our worst

when watching the news
many things sound abstruse

politicians speak out
but then they cast doubt
on what they actually said
and claim that they had
been sorely misunderstood
so for everyone‘s good
what they said should
     indeed
be deleted

with information thus defeated
we sigh deeply
     and though
we feel we‘ve been cheated
come home, take off shoes
and turn on the next news ...

when winter is saying goodbye
our nature prepares for a high
all juices start flowing
the farmers start sowing
but the snowmen are beginning to cry

as long as it functions
without any problem
it is merely your
    mostly unnoticed
tool to get through life

once it acts up
doctors step in
and you are lucky to recover

all those people
do not know you

you do not
want to know them either

who wants to care
about strangers

one of the Orient’s oldest
and most beautiful important cities
inhabited for thousands of years
by generations after generations
of craftsmen, merchants, artists, dynasties,
famous architects of all styles and religions,
the western end of the old silk road
home to over 2 million citizens
until not long ago

a few weeks of modern warfare
were enough to destroy
what hundreds of generations had built
for their living as well as their sense of beauty

     rockets exploded churches, temples, and mosques
     artillery pulverized ancient palaces and new houses

     barrel bombs and poison gas
     killed the people

on tv we now see acres of urban wasteland
miles of rubble with no life
except for occasional tanks and soldiers
proclaiming victory over these ruins
in the name of a dictator whose regime
has become a puppet in global power games
no matter what the cost in lives or things

     to destroy is easy
     building things up is hard work

     with friends like these
     who needs enemies

rainstorms fiercely bulge the waves
toss honeysuckle and bougainvilleas
blow their blossoms high
towards the rainbow
that in sunny moments
sparkles over volcanic hills

how do I write about the beauty of the world
when barefoot people pass before my window
in search of shelter

how do I share my pleasure of the birds' sweet song at dawn
when I see faces etched with panic
from deafening blasts of bombs

how to rejoice in love and friendship
when meeting people who could barely save their lives
after burying their loved ones

how can I write with passion of the kindness of the human heart
when I see thousands fleeing from the ruins of their homes
only to face police   walls   barbed wire

true words are hard to find
as said a poet of an older war

    when it is a lie to speak
    a lie to keep silent

not easy

when your children
get killed by a lunatic
with a semiautomatic
in their school

and your president
flies in to meet the bereaved families
but in his fake condolence speech
does not mention even once
the words „gun control“

then it becomes very clear
whom you should vote for
in the next elections

our hearts keep beating
as long as they can

that's the sound of life

the 19th SCHOOL shooting in the USA in 48 days

the gun lobby is lying low
the president
     surprise
avoids a straight comment

17 school children dead
because in the land of the free
any psychopath can buy
a semiautomatic without problems
and vent his frustrations and fears
in a shooting spree

home schooling is on the rise
for better or worse

what do you call a president
who is unwilling
    or unable
    to protect
the health and security
of his people?

LOSER!!!

A certain Mr. Frederick
seems unable to prevent his ****
from creeping up into his words
that end up sounding much like turds
vented on **** sites popular galore -
ON HP WE DON'T WANT HIM ANYMORE!

cowgirls don‘t ride sidesaddle
unless they completely skedaddle
but even then, since their birth,
they hold on with great mirth
to that wonderful horn on their saddle

thinking of things to put to verse
   in times that often are adverse
   to topics that involve the universe
   and other serious matter
is difficult

world politics is quite atrocious
the culture scene no less ferocious
and so if you are somewhat cautious
in your choice of themes
few are left

you might start out with poised pen
for something serious & pertinent - but then
you have a quite inspiring moment when
you realize what truly is important
in our lives

just find the words
others can understand

the days go by in pleasant routine
only occasional disturbances
     with grandkids  unexpected visitors
     the mailman ringing at the door
          because the letter would not fit the box
     the neighbor asking for a favor gladly granted
     someone who wants to sell some things

the days go by
      preparing meals  go shopping
      splitting the firewood
      running the wash
      checking the email
      go swimming and do AquaFit
      occasionally have a lunch with friends

the days go by

and I occasionally wonder
about the undesired goal of passing all that time
as days go by

to call hard science „fake news“
creates suspicion that this abuse
of hard facts about global warming
is but a shabby adorning
of the power of money
which tastes sweeter than honey
as lobbyists prove every morning

there once was a president of states
who could not endure in debates
he insulted opponents
with verbal components
that were worse than what‘s outside the gates

today‘s occupant of the White House
is ne'er sure what his latest insight was
he tweets it at midnight
by dawn it‘s got pale
and at breakfast it‘s declared that it not was

different from TV
the shapes of waves and fire
never repeat themselves

outrageous words too often
are followed by terrible deeds

when words cannot speak anymore the situation is serious

forbidding just one word
spoken in public
opens the First Amendment
to the thought police

governments who fear to hear
the voices of their citizens
are well advised
to mend their ways

imagine a world
with no humans left

without
    man-made sounds
    street noise  airplanes
    laughter shouting fussing babies
    cars  radios TVs machines
    pop songs string orchestras
    
instead
     birdsongs  leaves blowing in the breeze
     sounds of rain  of springs and rivers
     deer splashing through a creek
     wild pigs snorting through the forest
     the sharp cry of an eagle
     owls hooting under the moon
     anmals rustling in the underbrush
     ivy decorating empty window frames

imagine
    all those poems
    nobody can read

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

what do you call
a more or less elected leader

who is unable
    or unwilling

to work for
    the health and safety
of his nation?

LOSER!!

recently
after every massacre
by some fanaticized pathological idiots
politicians call upon their citizens
to come together
and pray for the murdered and their families

this is absolutely appropriate

but it seems
that ever since 9/11
the nation only comes together
AFTER more of its members have been killed

I wish very much
that the nation
   AND politicians
would come together
BEFORE  the next massacre
and take appropriate action
to prevent such disasters
in the first place

some people seem to believe
the power to **** makes them safe

deadly error

just makes them more dangerous for everyone
themselves included

"earth"
without "art"
is just "eh"

now with a seven before the zero
I know that I am still no hero
just lucky to have lived so long
     and happy to go on
     for many years
before they sound the final gong

unknown morning birdsongs
make me aware
I am not home

at times it seems
your future might be little else
but treasured memories
from your receding past

open the door, look outward,
let some light shine in
and remember

your life goes forward
not back

the brush creates
    in careful steps
a painter‘s vision of the face
lets eyes shine bright
    or filled with pain
the lips closed firm and serious
    or hinting at a secret smile
abundant hair, a bit, or none at all
large ears, or medium, or small
pale cheeks, or rosy, with a glow
firm chin, with or without a beard

few limits to the versions of the world
in the attempt to make
the portrait gaze
right into viewers' eyes
    wide with surprise

a morning breeze draws gentle ripples on the sea
    dancing and glittering in the sun
at times more serious wrinkles
on the puckered surface indicate
strong deeper currents down below
moving unseen

shaping the everchanging faces
of our oceans all across the globe
creating scenes of terror and of beauty
    leaving us breathless
wondering about the plenitude
    nature brings forth
    often in frightening abundance
that occupies our lives

the time we spend
on sorting trivialities
one should not always
see as wasted

it can be a reprieve
     or an escape
from life‘s important questions
that tend to overwhelm us
now and then

solving our little problems
helps us establish
the much-needed illusion of order
in our life
encouraging us
to tackle bigger questions

a business person
     of somewhat dubious reputation
ran for president
promising to drain those swamps
we all believe we know exist
    around centers of power

he delivered on this promise
in his very special way

draining the swamps
     of all the alligators
that are now in his government

go figure

involves little brain
just basic arithmetics
lots of gut feeling
and trained physical action

works for surviving
in the Hollywood Wild West

not recommended
for leaders of nations

the  air-conditioned railjet takes me
with strangely whincing wheels
through winding tracks
along the mountains of my youth

clouds are hanging low
    after recent rainfalls
fog shrouds the forest hills
    in mystical silhouettes
rises slowly from the valleys
revealing an old castle here
     a younger hotel there

the next stop announces
     my birthplace
today's wet greenery passing by the window
makes me wonder what it was like
almost seventy years ago
     two years after the end of a war
     that destroyed many places on the globe
     and killed fifty million people
for my mother to give birth to the first
     of two sons
with a husband who
     at the age of 21
had just made his way
      not quite nine months before
escaping from a Soviet POW camp

     took him and a friend one month
     walking by night
          hiding by day
     through all of Poland
     to end up in a British field hospital
     from which they fled
           gratefully
     when they had regained some energy
     jumping trains from northern Germany
          to eastern Austria
     coming home just before Christmas 1946

and as my hometown disappears in fog and rain
I hear the muted noises of the high-tech train
     now on a steady downhill track
musing how easy my own life has been
no wars, dictatorships, catastrophes

how we are born into a world
so different from our parents‘
raised by their words and values
to make our way

people stuck in a mythic past
are unable to lead their country
into a great future

violence is a  terrorist excuse
for lack of good arguments

when the tide is high
fish are splashing on main street
the ground water begins to taste
like the Atlantic ocean
soon Florida Margaritas will not need
salt on the rim of their cocktail glasses
their lemons will have enough

to protects its citizens
from the dire consequences of rising sea levels
the state government acted
fast and furious
and has bann(on)ed terms like
“climate change” and “global warming”
from its official vocabulary