This is a book with a bonus built into it. The poems contained are in both English and German. The work is first rate, and moves easily from the seeming traditional to the experimental without losing the reader. I say ‘seeming traditional’ because the entire volume is a tour of the universe by a poet who clearly knows it well. Here are few to whet your appetite:

Stella Maris
Myraiden Leben
im Geist

stella maris
myriads of lives
in my mind

Stella maris is latin for ‘star of the sea’ or the North Star. When we view it, who else is viewing at the same instant? Where is it guiding us? That depends entirely on the individual. That is what I took from this one, but what do you see?

Wintermorgen
ich erwache in der Zukunft
meines Traums

winter morning
i wake up in the future
of my dream

Oh those winter mornings, when sleeping in is so seductive to our body and our mind. Living in the north woods of Michigan I know these moments too well. A wonderfully ‘traditional’ haiku/senryu, right? But we can’t really travel into the future without changing all the rules of physics, but when we dream, we can see at least a ‘version’ of the future. And, of course, our dreams can ‘mesh’ with our reality at times, since they are both tightly wound into our brains!

Leoniden
das Denken zuruck an der Quelle
der Worte

leonids
my mind back at the source
of words

This one refers to the Leonids meteor shower that are at their height in November. Perfect kigo for the traditionalist, but for me it also provided a stunning picture of our mind. Synapses lighting up throughout our brain, and ‘sparking’ thoughts, memories, and our imagination. The ‘source of words’ is well within reach if we could just open our minds at full tilt boogie, testing the limits of our synapses! It is fascinating to note that there is a gene, that humans possess, that allows us to communicate, and have multiple languages at that, but where did it come from? You can finish my thoughts with your own brain if you wish.

This volume is the perfect size to carry with you, and that is fortunate because you will find multiple levels and much richness of thought in this collection, so keeping it at your side for awhile will be helpful. I was totally taken in with the possibilities available to the reader in all of these poems. It is that good.

If you don’t want to take my word for it, and why would you, there is a foreword by Richard Gilbert. Forewords can be taken or left by many readers, including me, but Richard’s words will put you right where you need to be to launch into this collection fully. Read it first!(less)