Day 586 of the daily poems. The German writer Joachim Ringelnatz (1883-1934) was a master of wordplay, known for his humorous poetry and prose. Our translator poet Timothy Adès brings us his Summer Night when midges get troubly.
German Summer Night
by Joachim Ringelnatz 1883-1934
translated from German by Timothy Adès
When the peaches’ posteriors
Cavort in the bubbly
And the Devil gets serious
And his midges get troubly,
Give the pauper a treat,
Fill his purse, let him eat!
It’s a blow-out for paunches.
Blue baccy-smoke bunches.
Our jackets are doffed
In the grand jasmine-waft.
Through shadows and silence
Two sisterly violins
Expound melody:
We warm to one notion,
Lithe limbs are in motion,
Soft curves at the knee.
And a chuckle goes round
When some gent frees a hound
Of a string in its rear.
Each heart’s laughter-light
On this Teutonic night:
All’s perfect, just here.
Joachim Ringelnatz
translated by Timothy Adès
To appear in Ringelnatz the Rhymer from The High Window Press