WRITING FOR STRANGERS
By Olaf Dammann
1
where do storks come
from? if nothing else,
tender enchantrix, where
is your self, your
bones are wrapped in
silver linings, that
every cloud must
have, like ends of
tunnels must
have light
2
strangers, ideal
companions on
trips to the uncertain
if the goal is
unknown, the road
unclear, the
medium and speed
of travel elusive,
wherever we go and
whenever we get there,
we will remain strangers.
whatever might
happen, it will be the
only connection
between us. The
single remarkable
spot on the map of
the time that we
share. your skin is so
soft, no, much softer,
so warm and
its taste will
remind me of
spring
3
superb concentration of souls
dublin rotten
magnificent rainbows
flight attendants
prepare for landing
phil collins
philanthropy
philibuster
philantelistic
philander
city lights
dreams hidden
away
in centuries will
ripen the fruits
of starvation
and cold
4
maple leaves
tall white lies
brief encounters
grief unfolding
life in the shadows
damage done
5
as every flower wilts and
every youth makes room
for new departures,
so will our love remain
in flux in silence in itself
storks will never
sing the song the
lonely loon sang
all along
About the Author:
Olaf Dammann was born in Germany in 1961. He has published his work ever since he was a teenager, until recently mainly in German poetry journals and anthologies. His collection „Flüstermond“, with illustrations by Christian Hinrich, was published by Husum in 2007. A self published collection „Small Worlds“ was a finalist for the 2013 Four Way Books Levis Prize in Poetry. Olaf lives in Newton, Massachusetts.
