Note: This is a well-known humorous German nonsense poem (“Dunkel war’s, der Mond schien helle”), famous for its playful contradictions and absurd imagery.
It was dark, yet moonlight brightly shone,
snow lay on the meadow green.
As a carriage, fast as lightning,
slowly turned the corner’s bend.
Inside sat people standing still,
quietly deep in lively talk,
when a hare, long dead and silent,
skated past upon the sand.
And upon a bench so crimson,
painted in a shade of blue,
sat a fair-haired little boy there
with coal-black curls of hair.
Next to him an aging maiden,
barely just sixteen years old,
chewed upon a buttered sandwich
spread with dripping, heavy lard.
High above upon an apple tree,
heavy hung with sweetest pears,
dangled spring’s last lonely plum there,
and still nuts were growing plenty.
From the rain-soaked road beneath them,
dust arose in swirling clouds.
And a boy, though in the heatwave,
froze severely at his ears.
Both his hands deep in his pockets,
holding tightly to his eyes,
for he simply couldn’t stand it:
how the cow smelled like violets.
Gentle angel, lovely rascal,
terribly dear clumsy beast.
You have eyes just like sardines,
and all oxen look like you.
Author unknown. You can find more details on Wikipedia.
Do you like this poem? Do you have alternative rhymes or funny variations? Feel free to leave a comment...