Anarchistbanjo's World

Geneology

Father was a painter,
Mother was a painter.
They rhymed together
And were of like minds.
Father came from the north,
Mother lived on the Rhine.
There the son of a blacksmith
Courted the patrician’s daughter.
She was no fool
And made the right choice.
Her cheerful father
Was general of the cavalry
And son of a Rhinish art collector.
His family had been saving their coins
For over five hundred years now.
Now, father’s father
Was an anchor-smith.
He sounded his hammer song
In Wismar on the Baltic.
And received his old forge
From his father before him
He was really vexed
When his own son never
Became a smith.
That is my family tree
On both father’s and mother’s side
Here hangs the youngest apple
And isn’t he clever?

-Hanns Heinz Ewers
translated by Joe Bandel