kisses

unter der weide

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

unter der weide

I.

als das rundzelt
der weide
sich sachte
bauschte

als der pilgerzug
der pappeln
silbern
rauschte

als das erdreich
im abendrot
lag und
lauschte

als die stille
sprach
brach
mein herz

brach auf
wie eine kokosnuß
voll süßer milch
und weißem mark

II.

wer kostet
meine worte
wer liest
meine blicke

wer wartet
auf mich
unter der weide
im windhauch

wer wartet
mit mir
auf den neuen mond
auf den ersten stern

als wäre das morgen
noch möglich
als wäre das leben
noch herrlich

mein blick fing
die sternschnuppe
wer liest uns
ihre botschaft

III.

heu bedeckt
die krume
schweiß bedeckt
die haut

blumen
leuchten
nicht himmelblau
blauer als himmel

blumen
brennen
nicht feuerrot
röter als feuer

die trauerweide birgt
ein stummes gebet
meine arme wiegen
einen neuen traum

auf der stirne
trage ich
einen kuß
wie ein juwel

Christina Egan ©2021

Showers (Haiku)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Showers

*

Snow

A thousand snow-flakes,
sent from the moon to the lake
like little kisses.

*

Rain

The rain is dancing
on the skylight through the night.
We are wrapped in sleep.

*

Blossom

The cherry blossom
of your face on the pillow,
scented, resplendent.

*

Christina Egan ©2002

Raindrops on window, with pink flowers showing in the lens of each drop.
Raindrops on window, with flowers showing in each drop.
Photograph by Kumiko Shimizu on Unsplash.

One Drop of Rain

If one still drop of rain contains a rose
and if my eye encompasses your face,
a secret crystal must exist that holds
the sparkling galaxy in one round space.

Christina Egan ©2024

The breathtaking photograph I found as an illustration
for the haiku inspired another poem many years later!

I Do Not Ask for Love / A Thousand Leaves

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

I Do Not Ask for Love

I do not ask for love,
for I have none to give –
and yet I beg for life,
for leave to make you live,

to live as if the day
were fitting like a glove,
to breathe as if to pray
to beauty were enough,

to tremble as if time
had finished or begun,
to let two faces shine
as if two hearts were one.

I do not ask for words
of last or lasting love,
I cannot offer worlds –
one kiss shall be enough.

Christina Egan ©2006

Maple leaf, close-up, flaming golden and orange against dull background.

A Thousand Leaves

A thousand leaves in brownish bronze,
a thousand leaves thrust by the wind,
a rustling sea… a jostling crowd…
And then, with sudden sunset glint,
with guileless smile, one reaches out.

Christina Egan ©2010

Sycamore leaf. Photograph: Christina Egan ©2020.

Hinter dem Olivenbaum

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Hinter dem Olivenbaum

Noch hemmen Frost und Nebel allzulang
den bunten Garten,
und fast verstummt der volle Vogelsang,–
noch muß ich warten.

White rose, pink buds, hawthorns, all covered by melting snow.

Im Süden werd’ ich keinen Schnee mehr sehn,
bloß weiße Rosen,
die meine Lippen, wenn sie mannshoch stehn,
verstohlen kosen.

Einst wird mir hinter dem Olivenbaum
Oleander prangen,
und Blumenfluten streifen wie ein Saum
die warmen Wangen…

Christina Egan © 2017

The woman or man surrounded by frost, fog, and snow dreams of a future where she or he will kiss white roses and be caressed by oleander… The encounter with the plants is envisaged like an assignation behind a tree, an olive-tree as a symbol of the Mediterranean region.

Photograph: Christina Egan ©2017.

Thirst (I’m drawn to you by magnets)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Thirst

I.

I’m drawn to you by magnets,
I’m driven, drained with thirst –
yet later I’ll be grateful
that nothing happened first,

that I have always loved you
because you are yourself,
and not because you know me
or kissed me once in stealth.

II.

It is as if these vessels,
these smooth and sparkling words,
whose hollow space entices,
reflects, rejects and hurts,

got filled with blood-red spirit
of strong reality:
Desire. Joy. Surrender.
Embrace. Eternity.

Christina Egan © 2004

Purple Wine

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Purple Wine

I.

Deep purple and pure is this wine,
the midsummer’s fire condensed,
expanding inside me, immense:
your kiss – you are finally mine.

Large flat flower in white and purple, with long purple stem, small orange fruit, shiny green leaves.

II.

There’s twenty-one words on the paper,
of wine and a night I forgot:
yet flowers and fruits bore my plot,
your kiss sparkles many years later…

Christina Egan © 2005 (I) / 2020 (II)

Photograph: Christina Egan © 2016.

I’ve Caught a Star

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

I’ve Caught a Star

I’ve caught a star
and hold it tight,
it warms my heart,
it fills the night.

Yours is a kiss
as none before,
I know I need
now nothing more.

You are all men
and women, too,
the town, the land,
the earth are you.

You are the sun,
the sparkling day,
the magic moon,
the milky way.

You are the zest
upon my lip,
the only smile
that will unzip,

the only hand
that will hand back
each grain of corn,
each drop of sap.

Christina Egan © 2003

zerküssen

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

zerküssen

ich wasche
mir den tag
aus den augen
und auch den traum

um dich zu erkennen
um dich zu erkunden
wie du wirklich
bist

um den letzten abstand
zwischen du und du
zu ermessen
zu zerküssen

Christina Egan © 1990

Black & white photo: large leaves and flowers with their shadows forming a pattern.

The title, something like “kissing away” or “kissing apart” encapsules the message: I invented the word to describe the act of kissing as cancelling the distance between two people.

Photograph: Christina Egan © 2020.

explosion der rosen

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

explosion der rosen

wir warten auf den goldenen oktober
ein kuppeldach aus himmelblauem glas
auf rote zungen überm alten zuber
brilliantensplitter im erfrischten gras

wir warten auf die explosion der rosen
auf pilze wie verwunschene gehölze
und auf die falsche pracht der herbstzeitlosen
als ob die welt sich nicht schon stumm bewölkte

als ob der glanz nicht mündete in moder
die dahlie wie ein feuerwerk verginge
wir warten auf den goldenen oktober
und tauschen küsse wie brilliantenringe

Christina Egan © 2017

Formal garden with dahlias in fiery colours and tree with deep-red foliage.

Dahlia Garden in Fulda, Germany, in October.
Photograph: Christina Egan © 2010.

This is the End (Yet all will be well)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

This is the End

Most days are too harsh, and most days are too dark,
and most hours are trundling along through a void,
while the moons fade away, barely leaving a ray,
and proud cities, piled up to the clouds, are destroyed.

Yet all will be well, yes, it yet will be well,
and all manner of things will be well in the end,
when in fathomless bliss like a fathomless kiss
all the stars, all the spirits will brighten and blend.

Christina Egan © 2004

Lines five and six are a quote from Sister Julian of Norwich,
an English hermit and mystic who lived six hundred years ago.

In Advent, which this year starts today, Christians also think of
the inevitable and terrifying end of the world.

Massive stone walls piled upon each other

The Tower of Jericho, around 9,000 years old. Photograph:
Reinhard Dietrich (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons.