FREIBURGER ZEITGEISTLITERATURE (Satis Shroff)

THE MIRACLE OF GREECE (Satis Shroff) The Greeks are getting euros To stay in line to get money From the bankcomat. A measly 60 euros a day, For a whole family. In the streets of Greece a refusal To pay the Odius Debt makes the rounds. The debt was imposed on Athens, Not to help its people but to run banks. A breakfast for 5 euros: A toast bread costs 1,45 euros, Feta cheese for 3,49 euros, A liter juice for 1,18 euros. A coffee for 2,50 euros. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. A taxi in Athens? 68 cents per kilometer. Petrol costs 1,57 euros per liter. If Athens bails out, Would it be the disintegration of Europe? A referendum is professed to throw light: If it's a no, Tsipras and Varofakis want to resign. Ah, it's time for lunch: Another 7 euros. A pound of paste for 86 cents, A tomato sauce to go with it 99 cents. Eating at home for 3 euros, Eating out costs al...

THE TOWER RAVENS (Satis Shroff) (Subtitle: Evermore, for the Queen) The guard in the red jacket Stood at attention with his rifle, Watching the ravens on the lawn Of the Tower of London. The ravens were loyal to the Windsors, Like the brave, sturdy Gurkhas. The swarthy ravens would never Abandon the tower, So a legend goes. For if they did It would mean The end of the Kingdom. Charles II said in the 17th century: It's better to make sure, Thereby gave six black feathered friends Boarding and lodging. The raven-mater looks after them, Prunes their feathers regularly, So that they don't fly too far. In 2006 there was fear of bird-plague, So the ravens were obliged to caw in prison, As a measure of protection. Two years later came the financial crisis, And many Brits saw danger ahead For the beloved Kingdom. The six raven males Gwyllum, Thor, Baldrick, And the ladies Hugine, Munin and Branwen Were ...

Satis Shroff's ZEITGEIST LITERATURE : Zeitgeistlyrik: WELCOME HOME & Other Poems (Satis ... : WELCOME HOME (Satis Shroff) 'Welcome Home' wrote the London Evening Standard, As the SS Empire Windruch docked At T...

WELCOME HOME (Satis Shroff) 'Welcome Home' wrote the London Evening Standard, As the SS Empire Windruch docked At Tilburg in 1948. On board were Jamaican veterans From the Second World War, Who'd fought alongside British Tommies. The headline was never shown again, Britain's door was soon slammed. The Brits tried to forget their history. The post-war labour shortage had seduced them, To their colonial countries. The first generation didn't have A sense of belonging, To the British mainstream. The second generation had an ease of presence, They married British girls, Played soccer at school and English clubs. Black or coloured and British-feeling, Despite the subtle cuts of the meanest kind. The message dawned in them, In the place they were not welcome. Strange that some spoke Of British heritage for all. An elderly Brit veteran, Who'd been and seen all, Mumbled softly: 'Time will h...

Zeitgeistlyrik: O Heimat (Satis Shroff) O HEIMAT (Satis Shroff) O Heimat, Surrounded by parents, Enveloped by brothers and sisters. Blue mountains, Home of the eternal snows, Abode of the Gods, Of the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons. Memories, Of a place deep within me, Where I live. That’s my Heimat. I carry my homeland Within me, Where ever I go. Is home where your father died, In a tragic car-mishap In the foothills of the Himalayas? Heimat isn’t there, Where your mother lives, In another country, To get away from the terror of the Maoists, No longer distressed by poverty. Is your Mom’s choice, What you also desire? Nein , home is where the heart is. Your heart is with the lady you love, Your children, The product of your genes, That you love dearly. Friends with whom you studied, And matured in your Bildungsroman. Your verein where you sing and share, Mundane thoughts and philosophy,...

(Rübenzahl: Schlesian fairytale figure) SCHLESIEN, MY FORGOTTEN HEIMAT (Satis Shroff) Blue hills; green valleys In the middle a small house, So wonderful this piece of earth, That´s where I´m at home. This old Heimat song from Schlesien was painted and hung on the stairs of Frau Ana Podolski in Kappel by her dear husband when I visited her. We´d had a chat outside her house where her late husband had done a mural on the side wall of the house. When you drive or walk to Kappel you can´t miss it: a big painting depicting a giant called the Rübenzahl, holding a carrot and near his feet is an old Schlesien town with its church. In the distance you can discern the Schneekoppe, which is a 1603m high mountain. Ana said, ´It is a German mountain with alpine character. Below the peak you can see a Wetterwarte, a small building to forcast the weather.´ Frau Ana Podolski was born in Hiddensee, Agnetendorf, and has gone through her share of separation from her old home during the war...

Satis Shroff's ZEITGEIST LITERATURE :  Zeitgeistlyrik: A GURKHA MOTHER (Satis Shroff)          (Subtitle: Death of a Precious Jewel) The gurkha with a khukri But no enemy Works for the Queen of England, Yet gets shot at In missions he doesn't comprehend. Order is hukum, Hukum is life Johnny Gurkha still dies Under foreign skies. He never asks why Politics isn't his style He's fought against all and sundry: Turks, Tibetans, Italians and Indians Germans, Japanese, Chinese Argentineans and Vietnamese. Indonesians and Iraqis. Loyalty to the utmost Never fearing a loss. The loss of a mother's son From the mountains of Nepal. Her grandpa died in Burma For the glory of the British. Her husband in Mesopotemia She knows not against whom No one did tell her. Her brother fell in France, Against the Teutonic hordes. She prays to Shiva of the Snows for peace And her son's safety...