Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Ida Börjel

mountain ranges were, the mountains’ quiet

mountain ranges were, the mountains’ quiet
quiet echo; flag on Mount Everest
over the frozen corpses, over tons
of garbage left behind along
the trails on the streets of Berlin
right-wing extremists’ twenty-two-thousand placards
two weeks after the elections
still especially dense near the Jewish Museum
and the party leader’s manner of straddling
the motorcycle beneath the headline Gas geben
where brown leads blue
in the shadow of the Hungarian mob; over
the majority of German civilians who
were forced by the Allies to see Die Todesmühlen’s
film sequences from Dachau, Bergen-Belsen
Nordhausen, Auschwitz afterwards
denied responsibility, did not
know of any death camps; there were: echoes
echo was, echo from Budapest’s silenced
National Theatre towards The Freedom Theatre          Jenin

de bergketens bestonden, stille echo’s

de bergketens bestonden, stille echo’s
stil in de bergen; vlaggen op de Mount Everest
voor de ingevroren lijken, voor de tonnen
achtergelaten vuilnis langs
de wandelroutes op de straten van Berlijn
de tweeëntwintigduizend posters van extreemrechts
die nog twee weken na de verkiezingen
bijzonder dicht bij het Joodse museum hingen
en de partijleiders die schrijlings op hun
motor zitten onder de kop Gas geben
met bruin dat blauw leidt
in de schaduw van het Hongaarse gespuis; boven
de meerderheid van de Duitse burgers die
door de geallieerden werden gedwongen Die Todesmühlen te zien
met filmsequenties van Dachau, Bergen-Belsen
Nordhausen, Auschwitz nadien
schuld ontkenden, niets
geweten van doodskampen; er bestonden: echo´s
de echo bestond, de echo van het in Boedapest geknechte
Nationale Theater tot aan het Vrijheidstheater      Jenin

bergskedjorna fanns, bergens tysta
tyst eko; flagga på Mount Everest
över de infrusna liken, över tonvis
efterlämnade sopor utmed
vandringslederna på Berlins gator
de högerextremas tjugotvåtusen plakat
som ännu två veckor efter valet
hängde särskilt tätt invid judiska museet
och partiledarens sätt att grensla
motorcykeln under rubriken Gas geben
där brunt leder blått
i den ungerska mobbens skugga; över
majoriteten av de tyska civila som
av de allierade tvingats se Die Todesmühlens
filmsekvenser från Dachau, Bergen-Belsen
Nordhausen, Auschwitz efteråt
nekade till skuld, inte
känt till några dödsläger; det fanns: ekon
eko fanns, eko från Budapests tystade
nationalteater ut mot Frihetsteatern        Jenin
Close

mountain ranges were, the mountains’ quiet

mountain ranges were, the mountains’ quiet
quiet echo; flag on Mount Everest
over the frozen corpses, over tons
of garbage left behind along
the trails on the streets of Berlin
right-wing extremists’ twenty-two-thousand placards
two weeks after the elections
still especially dense near the Jewish Museum
and the party leader’s manner of straddling
the motorcycle beneath the headline Gas geben
where brown leads blue
in the shadow of the Hungarian mob; over
the majority of German civilians who
were forced by the Allies to see Die Todesmühlen’s
film sequences from Dachau, Bergen-Belsen
Nordhausen, Auschwitz afterwards
denied responsibility, did not
know of any death camps; there were: echoes
echo was, echo from Budapest’s silenced
National Theatre towards The Freedom Theatre          Jenin

mountain ranges were, the mountains’ quiet

mountain ranges were, the mountains’ quiet
quiet echo; flag on Mount Everest
over the frozen corpses, over tons
of garbage left behind along
the trails on the streets of Berlin
right-wing extremists’ twenty-two-thousand placards
two weeks after the elections
still especially dense near the Jewish Museum
and the party leader’s manner of straddling
the motorcycle beneath the headline Gas geben
where brown leads blue
in the shadow of the Hungarian mob; over
the majority of German civilians who
were forced by the Allies to see Die Todesmühlen’s
film sequences from Dachau, Bergen-Belsen
Nordhausen, Auschwitz afterwards
denied responsibility, did not
know of any death camps; there were: echoes
echo was, echo from Budapest’s silenced
National Theatre towards The Freedom Theatre          Jenin
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