by Alice Stadler
A simple, metallic gateway
Keeps the dead from the living
Like a prison its inmates from
The save world, and right behind
These bars hide the saine world
Of flowers and bouquets
From which the sad and mourning
People get their little piece of beauty
And peace for their beloved one,
Now resting in peace and in the beauty
Of the alleys from the Bremgartenfriedhof,
Which is shepherd by little, industrious guardians
Who do not only look after the gravestones
Of the dead, they also try to make
The crying smile, the mourning remember
The beauty of nature and the wayfarer
Happy to have chosen this path and
These are only a few of the duties
Of the squirrels of the Bremgartenfriedhof;
However, there are not just the alleys,
There are even more, more seasonal flower
Arrangements changing with nature their shape
And colours, new trees are getting planted
To keep the dead and the ones alive in the
Comforting anonymity of the obscurity,
In which nobody will see the flood of
Tears covering one’s face, nor the
Absence of them, as well as flower mandalas,
Situated in each corner of the Bremgartenfriedhof,
Attracting bees and birds in the spring
To have a closer look whereas in the colder
And rainy seasons they give to this place of
Lost souls a feeling of a neat and tidy home,
A Home for the dead and the living,
For the feeling one and the unaffected,
So come along to the home tidy home,
Then where else is comfort and warmth
When not in a place like the Bremgartenfriedhof,
Where somebody is caring for you? –
And in the center of it is the beating heart,
The big, old copper beech tree with
Its round bench around it, linking the
Labyrinth of paths together just like the
Big tree of the cheshire cat, where it is
up to you to choose your path going straight,
Going home, going away, or coming home,
Where it is up to you to stay and sit or come
And go and still you don’t know where your
Own path will go – and all of this is hidden
Behind the gateway of the Bremgartenfriedhof.