Lichte Gedichte

Lichte Gedichte dedicates itself in nine sections to the eternal themes of all poetry as well as very contemporary, even private subjects. It begins with discussions of love, the individual, nature, and art, and concludes with death and illness. Unexpectedly, "Heart in Distress," the "Diary of an Intervention in One Hundred Entries," ensures a positive ending and guarantees that the promise of "light" does not devolve into a mere "ly." The typical balancing act of Gernhardt between unabashed comedy and determined seriousness has reached a new quality in his poems: the dark background of earthly heaviness is constantly addressed and consistently transforms before our eyes into brightness and swiftness.