Month: May 2019

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German Interludes
customs in Berlin

a venomous attitude

is he rude at home?

does he have a family?

has he ever smiled before?
city walking tour

with guide Silke Schlittermann

history unfolds

Topographie des Terrors

timeline of atrocities

don’t get run over

stay aware of where you are

Berlin has bike lanes

car and subway train traffic

street trams and buses fly by

plexiglass in ground

empty bookshelves underneath

remember the fire

“If they’ll burn books, they’ll burn souls”

that’s exactly what they did

quinoa salad

Auf die Hand Feinstes fast food

beet root and edamame

spring mix and small green apple

water to drink with this lunch

black licorice sticks

postcards for all four grandkids

blue Berlin neck scarves

gummy bears and schokolades

Kinder egg with a surprise

swindlers swaggering

Pickpockets people-picking

Maryjane-berlin dot com

colorful hair and tattoos

graffitied buildings
white asparagus

in season six weeks in spring

buttery in soup

never seen the light of day

green above ground, white below

Weidendammer Bridge

lovers’ names engraved on locks

fastened to the rails

authorities cut the locks

the love they symbolize lives
-Kim Johnson
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Spree River Boat Ride

 

evening boat ride along Berlin’s Spree River

returning the greetings of festive Germans

drinking a Schweppes Bitter Lemon,

reveling in the pulse of this city, smiling at the locks on Weidendammer Bridge

 

returning the greetings of festive Germans

waving back to the stumbling partiers, benched old lovers, and blue-haired goths

reveling in the pulse of this city, smiling at the locks on Weidendammer Bridge

taking in the sunset, watching the dancers, admiring the scenic city

 

waving back to the stumbling partiers, benched old lovers, and blue-haired goths

German beer changes the attitude and sets the mood

taking in the sunset, watching the dancers, admiring the scenic city

realizing that happiness and merriment are universal

 

German beer changes the attitude and sets the mood

drinking a Schweppes Bitter Lemon

realizing that happiness and merriment are universal

evening boat ride along Berlin’s Spree River
-Kim Johnson

 

 
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My Egg Cracked
 
 
 
my cherished German Kinder Egg cracked

shattered schokolade pieces around a surprise inside

crushed on one side, wrapping splitting open at side seams

rude German baggage security men reacted with sympathy

 

shattered schokolade pieces around a surprise inside

airport security made me empty the schokolade from my suitcase

rude German baggage security men reacted with sympathy

suddenly taken back to their childhood memories, grieving the egg

 

airport security made me empty the schokolade from my suitcase

angrily frowning at the world, like barking dogs threatening to maul passengers

suddenly taken back to their childhood memories, grieving the egg

from the wicked demands of adulthood back to the wonder of childhood

 

angrily frowning at the world, like barking dogs threatening to maul passengers

crushed on one side, wrapping splitting open at side seams

from the wicked demands of adulthood back to the wonder of childhood

my cherished German Kinder Egg cracked
   -Kim Johnson

 
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In Handwerksbrauerei Lemke Berlin 5-25-2019

eating red cabbage
white asparagus cream soup
raspberry sour beer
raisin pancake for dessert
friendly young German waiter

-Kim Johnson

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A Travel Tanka

Passport Ready

I’m Germany bound.
passport: who is THAT person?
one small carry-on
clothes to exchange for new ones
a locking khaki backpack

traveling alone
looking for signs with my name
Berlin is waiting
host city, eager teachers
learning the tour leader ropes

-Kim Johnson

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Challenge from Sarah Donovan:  write a Tanka poem (5-7-5-7-7)  or a Reverse Tanka poem (7-7-5-7-5) about a summer topic of your choice

estuary sanctuary
escape from the world and breathe
salt air, warm sun, gentle breeze
peaceful tidal creeks
from Goulds Inlet to East Beach
summer kayaking
-Kim Johnson
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Travel Mash-Up Poem using borrowed lines from John Burroughs and Thomas Hood

Unsmooth Landing

Serene, I fold my hands and wait (“Waiting,” John Burroughs)
E-Ticket ready, airport gate
Off to Berlin, red-eye boarding
Reading, writing, sleep affording

With eyelids heavy and red (“Song of the Shirt,” Thomas Hood)
19-B, neck pillow bed
Fast asleep, bumpy landing instead
Wait. Where am I?
          Home, in bed. 

-Kim Johnson, using borrowed lines from John Burroughs and Thomas Hood

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An acrostic poem written for my daughter on the day of her graduation from The Bethany House, May 18, 2019, eleven months sober and every new day a victorious gift!

 

Mallory Michelle Meyer

Miracle
Artistic
Loved
Loving
Optimistic
Redeemed
Yielding

Merciful
Inspiring
Child of God
Holy Spirit-filled
Enthusiastic
Learned
Lionhearted
Extraordinary

Meditative
Empowered
Youthful
Endearing
Restored

-Kim Johnson

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Travel Mashup Poetry using borrowed lines from Elizabeth Coatsworth

Daydreaming Fuels

The mind, stiffened with routine, stretches, floats (“From Cadillac Mountain”)
Castles surrounded by turrets and moats

Vineyards resplendently writing each line
Praise Dionysus, Greek God of Wine!

Eiffel Tower welcoming World’s Fair fans
Gustave’s lattice monument proudly stands

Colosseum commemorating gladiators fought
Titus’s wild animals and humans slaught

Beefeaters guarding the queen’s royal jewels
Anticipant travelers’ daydreaming fuels

-Kim Johnson, using borrowed line from Elizabeth Coatsworth, as noted

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Travel Mashup Poetry using lines from Robert Louis Stevenson

Counting Down

I should like to rise and go (“Travel”)
Planning started long ago
Day dawns beyond the Atlantic Sea (“The Sun Travels”)
Awaiting my tour group and me

Till at last the day begins (“Night and Day”)
And I’m at work – not with my friends
I have just to shut my eyes (“The Little Land”)
Three more weeks to Paradise!

-Kim Johnson, using borrowed lines from Robert Louis Stevenson, as noted