Poems

When grandma was a only a mom (1995), she wrote poems. She had never graduated from any school.

She asked at the local university for them to be corrected, and they were instantly published in the little students paper, professors in Germany and the U.S. ensured her of the quality of her work, she was asked to speak for the public at an institute and was invited to a private party to read.
The audience there wore expensive clothes, and she decided to be a poet for the poor rather than for the elites and left.

As she was inspired by Reggae and Dub, some of the best musicians and poets, legends of Jamaica who toured her little town, tried to helped her.

She became the poet of an African king, the spiritual leader of four million people spread over three countries in West-Africa. After she opposed the elites in the local dictatorship she hid until she fled back home.

She was not made for business and her family needed her more, so she hid the poems in a drawer until now.

An old man

in front of his cottage
sits an old man
speaks an old language
a forgotten slang

he speaks of the past
of his tribe and his clan
neither did last
´xept the old man

he´s speaking of wisdom
and sings the old song
his children don´t listen
forgot where they´re from

now singing the blues
cause they lost their roots

Death

this is a moment in your life
it can be last
after a short span of time
you will be past

might catch you by surprise
if death takes you away
if you don´t realize
this will happen one day

your guilt grows too late
when you´re not prepared
you will be afraid
you will be scared

the sooner you accept
the more you respect (death)
the easier it will be
to die into eternity

Wishes

where did my dreams go
which secret land
never will know
never understand

what happened to the hopes
of what the future brings
and all the funny jokes
and all the miraculous things

where are all the wonders
legends I was told
why do all those thunders
never rain me gold

I thought a mighty god
would create a paradise
he would allow no fault
because he is so wise

now I must see
wisdom is up to me
I must make my wish come true
and so must you

Books

learning by theory
makes you know
but never see

you have to go and live
and see what life can give

see what life can take
what´s real and what´s fake

see how deep the feelings are
and how high your shining star

see that you can reach
more than books can teach

though: I love each written word
gives me joy and gets me hurt
gives me information
and recreation
and the pictures I see
with this theory
I find
in my mind