Two Poems

The Old Man who is Not

for Günter Kunert

The old man who is not
really that old, sits naked
with thirteen skulls
piled up high on his table.

Is it his desk or is it
a corner of his dining table?

Other people he knows
prefer to keep vases full of roses
and bowls overflowing with fruit -
especially apples. Other people prefer
      to keep apples nearby.

But his skulls must stay -
even the grass stained ones.
For they need to speak to him.
Look, how impatient they are,
...