Berlin Zoo Station

Berlin Zoo Station

I.

Blurred impression of large railway station through train window.Building sites, cordons,
corridors, concourses,
people whizzing, weaving,
people sauntering, skipping,
dragging luggage along, around,
trains shooting in and out,
shuttles on a loom.

Faces, faces like packs of cards,
shuffled, shuttled across the city,
voices, voices from all the winds,
into all the winds, and everyone
means something to someone,
everyone means something,
means everything.

 

II.

Cloud strips, golden and pink, above a dark crowded square at the very bottom.

Trains bridging borders,
the square, sun, people,
people, specks of colour
propelled past me,
their shades brushing me,
their warmth, breath,
so near, here, now.

Life, life, yes, yet
nothing but
the first faint dawn
of a future with no night,
no barriers, boundaries:
destination without distance,
one web of light.

Christina Egan © 2016 (I) / 1999 (II)

Photographs: Railway station and airport in Berlin. Christina Egan ©  2016.

A breath

A breath

A breath – to draw, no, to invite
the sky into your thirsty chest!
A splash of air – a spark of life –
a space of freedom, quiet, rest.
A sigh, a word, a simple rhyme –
a flash of meaning on your quest.

Christina Egan © 2016

Glass screen with patterns in black, white and gold, resembling surf and seagulls.

Un poème, de l’air, un peu de liberté,
un peu de sens dans la vie furieuse…

Jean-Marc Barrier

Ein Wort  ein Glanz, ein Flug, ein Feuer,
ein Flammenwurf, ein Sternenstrich –

Gottfried Benn

 

‘Rhizome’. Sculpture by
Laurence Bourgeois (Lô).

When Webs of Steel / Von stählernen Waben

When Webs of Steel

When webs of steel and walls of glass
confine you to a square of grass –
stand still and feel your sap pulsate:
You have a face. You have a fate.

When no one listens, no one knows you,
when no one loves you or else shows you,
take a deep breath – take two – take cheer:
I know, across the seas. I’m here.

Christina Egan © 2009

Von stählernen Waben

Von stählernen Waben und gläsernen Wänden
beschränkt auf ein spärliches gräsernes Eck,
steh’ stille und spüre dein Blut in den Händen:
Du hast ein Gesicht; und du hast ein Geschick.

Will keiner dich kennen, verstehen und lieben,
gibt keiner verborgene Neigungen her,
hol’ Atem  hol’ Atem und freudich am Leben:
Ich weiß es ja, bin ja bei dir übers Meer!

Christina Egan © 2015

In these lines, the anonymous and monotonous modern life described in Amidst the rush / Schrumpft die Welt and höhlenmenschen / cavemen
is overcome: whenever individuals become aware of themselves — and appreciate each other — as unique personalities.

This poem may be declaring love or expressing affection between family members or close friends.