Paul Boldt, "On the Terrace of Café Josty" (1912) This poem illustrates the desire of poets to capture the rhythms of modern life. Sitting on the terrace at a Berlin café, Paul Boldt (1881-1921) allows sensory impressions to trickle into the aesthetic tableau of his poem.
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Potsdamer Platz in an endless roar Glaciates all resounding avalanches The street complex: trams on rails, Automobiles and the refuse of mankind. People trickle over the asphalt, Ant-like in their diligence, nimble as lizards. Foreheads and hands, flashing with thoughts, Swim like sunlight through the dark forest. Night rain wraps the square in a cavern, Where bats, white, with beating wings And lavender jellyfish lie – colorful oils; They multiply, dissected by the cars. – Berlin squirts up, glistening nest of the day, From the smoke of the night like the pus of a pestilence. Source: Paul Boldt, “Auf der Terrasse des Café Josty” [“On the Terrace of Café Josty”], Die Aktion, Jg. 2, November 13, 1912. Original German poem reprinted in Jürgen Schutte and Peter Sprengel, Die Berliner Moderne 1885-1914 [Berlin Modernity, 1885-1914] Stuttgart, 1987, pp. 328-30. Translation: Richard Pettit
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