Hey Steph,
What a nice idea to share favourite poems - and a very interesting first entry
I love poetry (and I love to hate bad poetry, too), but I couldn't really decide on a single favourite poem.
Instead, I'll post something a lot of people here might not know and can hopefully still enjoy.
Last CallRight up to my final hour
I'll be obliging and polite.
Should I hear Death firmly knocking
I'll shout at once: come in! Alright?
What’s on the schedule? Is it dying?
Well, that’s something rather new.
But I’m sure that we can swing it,
showing them a thing or two.
What is this? Your hour glass?
Interesting! And good to grasp.
And the scythe is for grim reaping,
did you say? I’d thought I’d ask.
Which way should I turn from here?
To the left? From where you stand?
Well, alright then. To the graveyard?
Where I take my final hand?
Yes, the glass is out of sand now.
Oh, I see, you want it back.
May I ask you where you got it?
So unusual, all in black.
Is it antique? Oh well, whatever.
I only meant to ask, old chap –
What? No questions? No more talking?
That's fine by me. I'll shut my -
This is a poem by the late great Robert Gernhardt. He wrote it at a time when he had severe trouble with his heart and had to go through complicated surgery.
There is a great tradition for humorous poems in Germany, and I like how Gernhardt balances sad themes with a lot of lightheartedness and fun. Others of his poems are just plain silly or vulgar or thoughtful - but almost all of them are interesting in one way or another.
By the way, I found the translation above on a website which has a few more of his poems in English as well as some of his drawings:
signandsight.com .
