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Cross-Country Skiing and Bratwurst: A Brief Study of Angela Merkel
by Deborah Flanagan

July 1, 2018 Contributed By: Deborah Flanagan

  There was no shadow over my G.D.R. childhood.
Later I acted in such a way that I would not have to live in
constant conflict with the state.” –Angela Merkel

 

As a child she stands on the diving board for the full hour of her swimming lesson:
at the bell, she finally jumps. Her determination comes from her armpits.
She is the child who learns to walk by never letting go of anything. Warten Sie mal.

 

The slogan “Der Sozialismus Siegt”
was posted everywhere we looked.

 

Her mother asks her children if they would like to be trees.

 

We were always careful to appear loyal.

 

There are two sides to every door. Her father is a Lutheran minister.
She becomes a quantum chemistry scientist
and a beloved member of the Club of the Unkissed.
Eventually she learns to lace her fingers in a diamond shape over her stomach.

 

We carried the Stasi’s Handbook for a Happy Citizen
wherever we went.

 

The tree makes every effort to appear uninteresting, blending into the forest.

 

We slept and dreamt of princesses.

 

Sie sieht etwas weit weg. She only wears a series of blue pant suits
and never bends her knees. Nicknamed Mutti and The Decider,
she serves guests at the Chancellery potato soup and stuffed cabbage: Gutes Essen.
The hole in her sock, the only giveaway.

 

Return to table of contents for Issue 13 Summer 2018.

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Filed Under: Poetry Posted On: July 1, 2018

Further Reading

HALF FULL: PART II by Mithu Sen

Return to table of contents for PRACTICES, POWER & THE PUBLIC SPHERE Return to table of contents for Issue 2 Winter 2010

2021 MAYDAY Fiction and Poetry Prize Winners

We’re excited to announce the results of the 2021 MAYDAY Poetry and Fiction Prizes! The winners each received $1,000 and broadsides of their work will be available soon. Submissions for the 2022 prizes will open in the spring. Judges to be announced. 2021 MAYDAY POETRY PRIZE Winner: “Garçon,” by A. Shaikh. Judge: Jacques Rancourt. Finalists […]

What I Think About When I Visit Savannah, GA
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Was there always moss hanging from those trees?   Did they purposefully hang themselves  from the highest, sturdiest, most supportive branch?   Did they make sure to leave  enough room to let their underside dangle, waiting for passersby to touch them, free them, see them?   The wind brings life to these stationary bodies. The […]

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