Poetry/Photo
Urban Treasure Hunt Writings
© Claudia Strate
So,
there's a pile of crumbly dust
In a Schaukasten
At station Volkstheater.
Upon closer inspection
it's not random
but curated:
Der Zahn der Zeit
nagt an der naturhistorischen Geschichte
They say.
I see a tattered wing,
little dry legs lying about.
Tiny black eyes,
empty hairy shells
impaled on little metal poles.
"Historic insect drawer
infested by skin beatles"
They write
on a small golden plaque.
I see a little creature, all dry and grubby,
little yellow teeth
under a corroded nose.
"Hamster specimen
infested by webbing clothes moths"
They write
on a small golden plaque.
I see
not the teeth of time
but the gentle fingers of
the living earth taking back
what always belonged to her.
So,
I sat next to a book
on the bus
10A, direction Heiligenstadt
holy city
because where else
would a book go, all by itself.
"Das persönliche Geburtstagsbuch"
tells me about the 2nd of May
A special day
or so the book says.
There's a bookmark inside,
chapter "Die Festung fällt",
about the battle of Điện Biên Phủ
marking the fall of the French colonial empire,
is what the book says.
A few pages down,
birthday menu suggestions,
a recipe for a banana cocktail,
it contains a spoonful of butter.
Health tipps for the Taurus-Born,
Novalis romantic poems,
Catherine the Great was born on May, 2
Someone really loves their birthday
And wrote a book about it
I have to get off
bon voyage