19. März 2024
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Two Poems for Ukraine

Bild von Hubert de Thé auf Pixabay
Lesedauer ca. < 1 Minuten

No man is an island [John Donne]

No man is an island, entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main; if a clod be

Washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were,

As well as if a manor of thy friends

Or of thy own were;

Any man’s death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind;

And therefore never send to know

For whom the bell tolls;

it tolls for thee.


War [Vishnu Singh Rai]

This is the tenth day of the war,

No sign of its end so far.

The bunkers are full with people,

Like ants in a hole.

The sky is full with missiles,

Cracking like fireworks.

The pattering of machine-guns sounds

Like thunderous clapping

In the UN General Assembly,

And the siren sounds

Like the wailing of a mother.

TV screens are alive with

Empty abandoned houses,

Like bodies without souls.

The gaping holes on the road

Like mouths open in bewilderment,

Half-burnt upturned cars

Like half-hearted supporters of anti-war –

And against the blackened crumbling wall

A teddy bear on its back

Staring vacantly into space

As if trying to make sense

Of this senselessness.

Ukraine is far away from my country.

I have no family there,

Nor my son is studying medicine there.

I have never been to Ukraine.

However,

When I watch TV

My eyes fill with tears

And my heart aches

With helplessness and despair.

O onlookers of

This deaf world,

O bystanders of

This dumb world,

Just think for a second –

and no more –

What if a war

Knocked at your door?

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Sandrew

Andrew and Sandra were both born in Scotland and both studied at the University of St Andrews, although they didn’t know each other then. Andrew is an English teaching professional with 40 years’ experience at school and University level. He has held seminars all over Europe and is still active in professional development for teachers and in related publishing. Andrew moved to Inzing from Innsbruck in 1998. He has worked in Austria for most of his working life. He is a great reader and has an impressive library. His other interests include classic cars and football. Sandra had a varied career as a manager in public services in the UK, finally specializing in Customer Service. She spent the last part of her working life as a freelance management consultant. She is also qualified to teach English and is a member of the Institute of Customer Service (UK). Her hobbies include gardening, hillwalking and cycling. She and Andrew married in August 2006 and Sandra moved to Inzing in 2011 when they built their house in Brechtenweg. Andrew and Sandra are members of the Inzing Freundeskreis für Integration and help to run a fortnightly Sprachcafé for newcomers. Andrew was a contributor to the Radio Enterbach project in 2009 and Andrew and Sandra now make two programmes for Freirad, Poetry Café and reading Circle (both in English). They are keen to ensure that the Dorfzeitung remains a meaningful and useful publication which offers something to everyone who lives in the village.

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