Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen

We left Cologne in the morning,
At a quarter to eight;
We arrived at Hagen around three,
And that is where we ate.

The table was readied, it was
Good old German cooking all right.
Hail to thee, dear sauerkraut!
Your smell is a real delight!

Stuffed chestnuts in green cabbage!
They look as if cooked by mother!
Hail to thee, my homeland cod!
How smartly you swim in butter!

The homeland is always sacred
To a heart with a real feeling.
I also like, served well baked,
A mixture of eggs and herring.

O how the sausages sang in sizzling fat!
The thrushes, little angels so devout,
Baked with apple sauce, twittered:
“You’re welcome to try us out!”

They twittered: “Welcome, dear countryman!
You’ve been long gone, we understand.
For a long time, with pretty girls,
You hung around in a foreign land!”

Upon the table stood a goose,
The quiet, comfortable kind.
Perhaps she loved me long ago,
When we were young and didn’t mind.

She gave me a look so full of meaning,
So ardent, so pained, so true!
I’m sure she had a beautiful soul,
Yet, her flesh was quite hard to chew.

They served a pig’s head too,
Displayed on a pewter plate;
Swine heads are still adorned with laurels,
In Germany, at any rate!

Germany. A Winter’s Tale

Caput IX