Category — Poem of the Month

Two gratitudes

I have to thank you
my once true lover
for giving me back
my life
as much as it hurt
at that time

I have to thank you
my now true lover
for accepting
my heart
and healing it
by and by

without you two
my past and my presence
I wouldn’t be the same
and I look forward
to my future
with you
my always true love

****
Another one from the Poem a Day Challenge in April 2009…

The Problem with Thinking

if my thoughts went as straight
as the road before me
I would reach my destination
before the morning

if my feelings were as calm
as the lake before me
my mind would be soothed
tonight

if my dreams were as high
as the mountains before me
my heart would be free
now

Routine of a Crime Scene Cleaner

The blood stains between the tiles
Are always hard to get rid of
Even with the special abrasive in my arsenal
The body fat is easier to wipe away
I just use a cotton cloth
And a fat solvent
Brain tissue on the wall
Always fascinates me
Are there any thoughts left in the blobs?

The stench was overwhelming
In the beginning
But I got used to it over the years
I never see the victims
Just their homes and what is left of their bodies
The only thing that stirs my routine up
Is the phone ringing
And the voice of the defunct
Announcing he can’t answer the call right now

*****

Another poem from the Poem a Day-Challenge in April - the writing prompt was “routine”. I had actually watched a programm about a crime scene cleaner and was fascinated in a very strange way…

This is one of my poems from the Poem a Day Challenge 2009, the writing prompt was “landmark”:

Siebengebirge

The last hills along the Rhine
before the land flattens down
one were the hero fought the dragon
one were the government quarter their guests
on the highest one you find the best onion tart
and the small one in the north
looks like a bread cut open

Many narrow paths
lead through the forest
hornet and bee
boar and deer
just behind my house
just up the street

The last hills along the Rhine
before the land flattens down
many poets have described them
many painters have portrayed them
but to my heart the sight of those hills
mean only one thing

home

© Julia Nickel

View of the Siebengebirge © 2007, Julia Nickel

The naming sounds as if there were seven hills, but actually it comes from “siefen”, which means raining a lot - and I can tell you, yes, it does!

Escape from Bristol, RI

Two large suitcases,
one black, one pink,
a small one in green
and a rucksack in red
I hauled along
from Bristol
over Boston
to Newark
and finally: Cologne

people thought
I had done Christmas shopping
I was stopped by the customs
but was let through hastily
when I burst into tears
because everything I carried along
in those bags
were the remains
of my life
while I dragged myself
through

© Julia Nickel

Mt. Hope Bridge © 2007, Julia Nickel

every day
a tad less
closeness
every day
a tad more
distance

only this way
I can
protect myself
only this way
I stay intact

© Julia Nickel

taking up a general
view
does the world move
or do I move?

I am dizzy
hold on!
stand still!!

doesn’t work
so I keep
spinning
with the world

© Julia Nickel

Words
just underneath the surface
but not clear enough
to get hold of them
to understand

the more I try
to recognise them
the more blurry
they become

so I sit down
at the bank
and wait
for the words
to rise

© Julia Nickel

I found
the way back
the pond
is still there
deserted

empty trees
no flowers
but nonetheless
my pond

have to take care
of it
and I am sure
soon it will be
beautiful again
here

© Julia Nickel

when suddenly
all the love songs
make sense
and the love scenes
in the movies
make me cry
then it doesn’t matter
that there is an ocean
between us

than at least
we are here
at the same time
and have found
us

© Julia Nickel