FREIBURG, CATMANDU & OTHER POEMS: FREIBURG AND CATMANDU (Satis Shroff) Freiburg: the finest spire in Christendom, Which bombs couldn't destroy In two Great Wars. Old men pulled carts with their belongings, Along the cobbled Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse. Women were taken to dances, By African American GIs. Children received chocolates. 'Hallo Fräulein!' did the rounds, In poverty-stricken, ramshackled Germany. The GIs returned years later to admire The splendour of cities they'd bombed. The Fräuleins were elderly ladies now, Who frequented posh cafes, operas and lectures. Catmandu: the all-seeing-eyes Of the primordeal Buddha, Still welcomes visitors From around the globe. The hippies have long left This cannabis paradise of yore. Its hotels and trekking lodges offer Western food galore, And fast-climbs for dudes and nerds To Everest. The Gurkhas still die under foreign skies, For the Queen of England. The
