Joachim Ringelnatz
from Reisebriefe eines Artisten (Letters from an Artist’s Travels; 1927)
Briefest Love
Ignorant peasants who, when meeting
Townsfolk, don’t return their greeting;
Those who will not meet your eye
When nodding thank-you or goodbye;
Tongue-tied tots; shy womankind;
Old menfolk loath to speak their mind - - -As your train goes rushing by,
Past barn and byre and field and tree,
From your window-seat you see:These very people standing there.
And by the gate, astride the stile
Or in the meadow, facing square,
They wave and smile and wave and smile.They greet you with a warmth surpassing
Shame or guilt.And the purest love is spilt
In passing.
Translated by David Cram
Page(s) 42-43
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