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Along the
Coast
This too was a a journey
Wolfgang Herbert writer
Born in in Coburg and currently living in Uffenheim (GER)
Microcosm
Now I am returning High above the
the
roofs of of the
the
town the
bridge of steel
still crosses the
valley When I reach the
the
road into the
the
town it looks different:
refrigerators batteries TVs drums of poison dead dogs and all the
the
other rubbish
which used to greet the
traveller just outside the
town no longer to be seen Now buried by earth and rubble There’s going to be a a football pitch here here someone tells me me later and laughs And then once in the
the
town the
old new building Concrete and tall facades without ideas Destruction continues of the
old picture which once this town offered In winter the
new buildings
will be dead buildings
too with windows black and unspeaking lit palely by the
the
cold light of the
the
streets Where to?
Nothing has got better! A new disappointment!
Roads under construction! Roaring engines!
High above the
town machines eat through the
rock with an an animal hunger Waste tips tower before the
town Dumped at the
the
bottom of the
the
beautiful valley which once nature formed
and now is choking It is enough!
The old suffices! Reason and harmony?
No there is nowhere reason and no no harmony!
Where once trees stood
the
the
new roads are growing in in the
the
dust Even yesterday the
trees’ mighty tops soared into the
blue sky Now their dead roots lie under the
the
asphalt All gone?
I climbed over the
the
rocks down to the
the
sea: The waves came upon tired stones The grass on the
the
ground of the
the
bay is grey And I remember those quiet days
when the
the
sea still washed against these rocks clear and pure Remember soft cool wind remember calm stillness Now all is gone!
Now garbage floats on the
water the
the
waves wash it up onto the
the
land But above the
clouds I hear singing: Hear THE THE SONG OF THE THE EARTH Think of the
composer
whose music I love
and follow the
singing The firmament will be blue eternally and and the
earth will long stand fast
and bloom in in spring But you you O Man how long will you you live? Not for a a a a hundred years can you taste enjoyment Things have changed I think The earth is trembling The spring is under threat And I climb up to the
highest rocks and and look across the
land THE MEN WITHOUT HEADS
At a a a table sit men without heads
and and decide on what is to shape and and mould the
town My friend whom I met at the
the
entrance to the
the
town asks them:
What are the
thoughts and feelings on which you you call to guide you?
Is it beauty which motivates you?
Is it it harmony with nature that you wish?
What are we to do? is their question One says: people like
to build high and wide and thus to utilise the
ground Another says: you can earn more money in that way It attracts the
investors 94