Poems

I don’t know when I will go blind, as I don’t know
when life or death will tear me away from my
beloved wife. That’s why in my treasury of memories
I collect and keep everything I have experienced and
got to know with awakened senses. With my sight,
hearing, taste, smell and touch… I look
for a long time and attentively at everything, listen
to different, loud and quiet voices, smell
more or less strong, pleasant and unpleasant
scents and fragrancies, taste sweet and bitter
fruits, touch soft and rough, hot and
cold shapes … I don’t know when I will go blind,
as I don’t know when life or death will tear me
away from my beloved wife. But I do know
that even then I will recognise by smell every
flower I have ever smelled, by sound
every bird I have ever seen, by touch
every shape I have ever touched.
But above all I will unmistakably recognise every
woman I have ever loved and caressed for
a long time. Even when she will silently stand
beside me, naked and washed with a soap smelling
of roses. And if time will have changed
her body, I will still recognise her – by the
unchanging smell of her soul. Bitter-sweet. Poisonous and
healing at the same time.