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 Flows, Sings

In the early hour

peeing

later morning

 

surprises on tongue

tasting tea

teeth chewing lips

 

listening with

feet

on curious soles

 

another day

steps into my humming orb

with honest clarity


 

midday overflows into

afternoon

filled with silken chords


multiple voices ring

echoing

through ears, flesh, bones

 

misty waves of sound

weaving droplets into dusky desire

for rest, drifting, winter



five o’clock

sun’s gone already, structures,

roofs, walls, fences, blurred, melted, faint –

how could the day glide so effortlessly

Open is the garden: Licht

 

fading to shades of grey

evening

sprouts questions

 

darkness delicately explores

night

star-studded with dreams


Here

a fugue entices

centuries converge

music by J.S. Bach reaches

consoles, flows, sings, strings shimmer

Tröstet das Herz, wir sehnen uns

nach dieser Berührung

der Seele

 

Es regnet…

Auch heute noch

In der kleinen Kathedrale

klingt der Gesang

 Violoncello

Stimme

Orgel

Trost

 

geborgen im Stein

 ein Juwel


Karina Epperlein, Berkeley, November 2025


Stills of Enamel Jewelry by Jutta Epperlein 
(brooches approx 1x1 inch, circa 1990’s)

For my displaced parents, after the war in their early twenties, listening to live concerts of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music – performed by Karl Richter’s chorus and orchestra in churches and concert halls in München – saved their lives on a spiritual level. This miracle must have gotten infused into my blood cells when still in the womb. The deep connection never left me. How modern his compositions sound to me. How deeply nourishing and inspiring. Nowadays, more Americans seem to have taken to this astonishing composer who died 275 years ago at age sixty-five.  Speaking to us over continents and centuries. How lucky we are that his music has been preserved. With the help of the famous Bach-Archive in Leipzig where composers, scholars and musicians from all over the world do their research and pay homage to the great master.


Here a wonderful “international” experience I had in 2019

Bachfest in Leipzig


And lastly, the Translation from German at end of poem:

Licht = light

 

[Here a Fugue entices…. music by J.S. Bach… flows, sings, strings shimmer]

Consoles the heart, we yearn

for soul being touched

like this

 

it rains…

Even still today

in the small cathedral

resonates the singing

violoncello

voice

organ

solace

 

embraced in stone

a jewel

 

 

Comments

Karina said…
My brother in Germany writes:
"Wie schön, deine Fotos, deine Worte, deine Wertschätzung."
How beautiful, your photos, your words, your appreciation.

But on second thought, i feel that the word “Wertschätzung” needs to be translated with two words: “Respect and Admiration” to understand the full weight and meaning of it.

In German, two words often are strung together into one, like in Wertschätzung, making for sometimes very long constructions which amuses or confuses Americans. I like pondering the double and triple meanings of these word-strings.
November 23, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Ecraig said…
This reminds me of a story my dad tells about his love of classical music. He said he never had a taste for it until after I was born. They he was obsessed. I remember he was always playing classical music in the car.

Are those your mother's pieces? They are so beautiful!
November 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Karina said…
Yes, my mama's enamel art – she was very inventive and extremely skillful with this medium. I have never again seen anything close to it. Jutta was her name :)
November 23, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Aysha said…
Your mother's enamel brooches are so detailed and full of life - what an inspiration for me at my age, who knows what i may have to live through... Tonight at your urging I went to a church to see HaeSun Paik play pieces by Beethoven, Schumann, and two composers who I had not heard of: Juri Seo and Bartok. The music seemed to come from someplace beyond her... it is a prayer that speaks to all of my pain and all of my joy. What a blessing - this music, and the people who help it live on!
November 23, 2025 at 6:55 PM
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