Cast off!

poem

Back among the houses and the people

stumbling through the alleys with their smartphones held high

The sky loses its colors and weeps over it

The air becomes cool next to the seagulls

They leave white blobs on the car roofs.

the clouds under which they flew

when the sky was still blue

But today the old gray is moving in.

It makes faces fall in the cafes.

in the restaurants under the folded umbrellas

Tourists engrossed in menus

People caught in moods on vacation

Handbags on chairs and mouths in cups

A car speeds past and honks its horn.

Where are the smiling ones? Where are the laughing ones?

Did they stay home today?

Workers pull out with wobbly helmets.

from the shipyard through the city

drinking beer in front of the beverage stores

in the parking lots, talking and laughing loudly!

The seagulls suddenly start screeching.

The boats are rocking in the harbor.

The last fish sandwiches are being served.

A plastic pirate guards the door before it closes.

on his Everthron in front of the Water Gate

It feels like just yesterday.

that I received the warmth of the walls here

those who spoke to me from the Middle Ages

who told me stories

and my pages filled up under the roof

It feels like just yesterday.

that I was at the round table in the studio, people

received and let her be close, like all of Wismar

that inspired me and meant me

And yet, a piece of heaven has changed.

the view of the harbor in the evening through the lanterns

There is no more Rodiwana from the workshop.

the walk into town or to the harbor is

crowded and yet suddenly empty

I enjoyed everything and felt

what I could feel and wrote

As far as I could tell, that's how I now feel about my city.

as strangely new, a different thing

like a being that falls silent and waits

like someone I once knew and who now

passes me by

A man at the harbor sits down next to us.

he once herded sheep

now without a herd, he has lost them

he looks at his shopping cart

He is a wise man who speaks to us.

a life full of face

We describe, we speak freely

He nods; I see the wrinkles in his eyes.

"Maybe because you're not from here."

says he, who himself travelled here

and I feel that he is a messenger

who has even more to say

I'm all Momo and all ear

next to him, who tells us a lot...

We are not from here.

The shepherd is not from around here.

The shipyard workers are not from here.

Those who are from here are not always here.

Those who are from here did not stay.

or like to stay or like to travel

or are simply here -

like the city that is visited by

People with smartphones

those getting off cars or cruise ships

of travelers and figures like movie characters of yesteryear

of history and stories

of pain, horror, and suffering

of pirates, Sweden and medieval times

of politicians, movers and shakers, good guys and spies

and from everyone who lives here

This city is both visited and a being

This city is a port – open to coming and going

Houses remain – but people make them – define them.

like the stones of a wall need mortar

so did the people of a street

how the seagulls need the sky

and the workers the shipyard

like the cars on the roads

and the parking lot the tourists

how I enjoy the view from my window while writing

The city has not changed.

My view after many years

Are these simply the expectations that were there?

The shepherd sits at the harbor without his flock.

The seagull was still on the car roof.

The couple in New Orleans are arguing

A shipyard worker laughs

The front door slams for the third time.

The cold has moved in

New owners – rent increase instead of neighborly relations.

Friends are moving out and we're moving with them

The three of them are now sitting at the harbor.

Writer, artist and shepherd

talk about it, this beautiful city

and I think

She knows it for sure:

Wismar feels it, breathes it, and lives it.

offers everyone new here a vibrant life

and gives the departing person many things with them:

Novels, thoughts, friends, and good ideas

a mind that is ready to emerge

to understand and now also to go

Bente Amlandt, July 9, 2025