The Statue Grows

The stone unhewn and cold
Becomes a living mould,

Monument to the Battle of the Nation (Völkerschlachtdenkmal), Straße des 18. Oktober, 04227 Leipzig, Germany

The more the marble wastes,
The more the statue grows.

From Michelangelo’s sonnet addressed to Vittoria Colonna (translated 1868)

The Conqueror Worm

Out—out are the lights—out all!
And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm,

Falckensteinstraße, Berlin, 10997, Germany

And the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

From Edgar Allen Poe’s The Conqueror Worm (1843)

Last Train From Berlin

There was no warning…

Oberbaum Bridge, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg,Berlin, Germany

…just a pounding on the door and then a few fleeting minutes to settle the affairs of a lifetime.

From Howard K Smith’s The Last Train From Berlin (1943)