Kölle Alaaf! I miss the echo in the streets,
the crowds on Rudolfplatz and Neumarkt,
the oompa pa of familiar Fastelovend songs
and cries of ‘Kamelle!’ as sweets hailed down.
You helped me dress up as a clown.
I drank cold Kölsch, ate salty Pommes mit Mayonnais’.
You taught me the words to ‘Mer losse d’r Dom en Kölle’
so I could sing along wth Bläck Fööss in the rain.
Et hätt noch immer jot jejange,
I was never arrested, never so drunk,
lost in a haze of hops and greasepaint
that I’d forget. I never forgot. I just moved away,
moved on to bodhráns and Guinness,
the Notting Hill carnival, November fireworks,
and motherhood. But around this time of year,
I still shout out Kölle Alaaf! and hope you’ll hear.
Kim M. Russell, March 2017
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Mardis Gras Mambo
Amaya is our host and she tells us about a wedding in New Orleans that inspired this week’s Poetics, in which she reminds us of one of the oldest and most notorious traditions of Mardi Gras. She says that ‘Fat Tuesday’ isn’t just the one raucous, titillating day before solemn, reverent Ash Wednesday but it’s actually a whole season, commencing on the Feast day of the Epiphany on January 6.
Amaya has given us inspiration with a poem by Susan B. Anthony Somers-Willet and a haiku by Alan Summers. This time last year, I wrote about carnival in Venice. As I’ve been away and am trying to catch up with everything, I’m sharing a poem I wrote and posted in March 2017, with a glossary to help with the language.
Glossary:
Kölsch refers to both Cologne dialect and beer brewed in Cologne
Kölle Alaaf! = Hooray for Cologne! (a rough translation)
Rudolfplatz is an area of the city I lived in and Neumarkt is a market place in the centre of Cologne, surrounded by shops, stores, trams and the general hubbub of city life.
Fastelovend = evening of fasting, a Catholic tradition
Kamelle = sweets, toffees mainly, that are thrown into the crowd by members of the carnival parade
Pommes mit Mayonnais’ = chips (fries) with mayonnaise
Bläck Fööss (‘Bare Foot’) are a ‘rock’ band that writes original songs in dialect, for example, ‘Mer losse d’r Dom en Kölle’, a well-known carnival song which means: We’re leaving/keeping the cathedral in Cologne.
Et hätt noch immer jot jejange – it always turned out well.
I like the fun in this, but also the very slight tinge of melancholy at the end. And the Kolsch works well. Sorry, I can’t work out how to do an umlaut.
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Thank you, Sarah, for spotting the melancholy. I always remember my German Mutti at this time of year, the woman who looked out for me when I was a teenager.
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This is so filled with joy in the memory (which is also melancholy)… maybe it’s not just the place but also the time that has passed since… it will never be the same.
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You’re absolutely right, Bjorn!
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I like this, Kim. We tend not to think of Germany and carnival together. You recreate these childhood/adolescent scenes well.
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Thanks Jane!
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🙂
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Yes, Kim! All the peppered jargon made this just what I wanted to read to escape my own world for just moment (it’s been a long winter.) I can picture you singing in deutsch to the oomp pa’s of the accordion, was it? Merriment all around, and the ending is poignant, with other rich experiences under your belt, yet the simple phrase of remembrance still has a place in your heart.
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Thank you, Amaya. It’s all a lifetime away, although it feels like only yesterday. Sometimes I forget that I was in my late teens back then, full of life and up for anything. Now I enjoy peace and quiet, no crowds and no beer!
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I love that this tells such a clear story and has such a contrast in it. Thank you for the glossary as well, it was really interesting to read.
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I’m glad the glossary was helpful, Carol.
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What a wonderful story you tell here Kim!
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Thank you, Linda!
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The excitement and joy of the festivities burst from each line! Bravo!
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Thanks so much, Frank!
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What great fun! I feel like you have taken me along with you. And I love fries and mayonnaise!
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Thank you, Candy!
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I went to Carnival in Germany once. Quite an amazing experience! These memories were fun but also, bittersweet.
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Full of happy memories too.
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Thank you for transporting me to a place that is dissimilar but also familiar in its party atmosphere.
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Thank you for joining in the party, Jade
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You are welcome. It was fun!
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Nice line: “lost in a haze of hops and greasepaint”
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Thank you, Frank.
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Love this Kim….captures that festival spirit…..with a hint of earned nostalgia!
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Thank you so much!
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What a great, crafted, quietly wild poem Kim — the jots of German dialect are like draughts of Rhineland wine or beerfest gold, and the abandon is as close to the edge as we see a heart and body willing to go before finding its way into the future commons of hearth and home far away. Such pungent remembrance, great work.
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Thank you, Brendan!
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Nothing like revisiting memories of our youthful explorations! I enjoyed this one, Kim.
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Thank you, Bev!
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The rolling rhythm is just right. Some memories linger and return to give new depth to the present moment. (K)
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🙂
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