Der Kölner Dom

Poem No. 761

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Hoch in die Himmel ragt der Dom
Stein auf Stein wie einst Rom
stieg in Pracht zu Heidengöttern
so ragt zu unserm Herrn der Turm.
An der Türe sind die Sel'gen
in ihren vollbrachten Wegen
auf Ewigkeit in Frommigkeit
stumm in Stein gemeißelt.
Im stillen Innen steigt der Weihrauch
und lautlos schwebt der Kerzenrauch
hinauf in die heiligen Höhen
des gewölbten Kathedralendachs.
Silberne Silben vom leisen Gebet
sind durch den alten Saal gesät.
Die kleinen Menschen tragen vor:
Seelenswünsche steigen empor
leise ausgesprochen
im großen Gotteshaus.

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Been a while since I last wrote a German poem. The inspiration for this one came from a 1916 letter from a German soldier. In this letter, the 18-year old philosophy-student-turned-soldier includes a breathtaking description of the Cologne Cathedral, and it was this description that inspired me to write this poem.

Here’s the section of the letter.

Unfortunately, I think few of my readers are German-speaking, meaning that most of y’all might not be able to get too much from today’s poem. :P
I hope you can find a little interest & enjoyment in perusing a poem in another language, but thankfully, I have a backlog of many poems, and so below is the poem from a year ago today. This time in English. ;)

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At the feet of his king
a servant begs to sing
to tell a story with his voice
of a fool's heavy choice.

“And then the water, into stubborn streams
Collecting, mimick’d the wrought oaken beams,
Pillars, and frieze, and high fantastic roof,
Of those dusk places in times far aloof
Cathedrals call’d.”

—John Keats, Endymion: Book II