fireworks in the street (hamburg, 19 months apart)

watching cargo ships dock on the river elbe. the smell of the city.  staying in stefan’s apartment on zeiseweg. his homemade rye bread with malt spread. his husband ralf’s attempt at humour. sitting reading my book in jungfernsteig. drinking the german beers. nothing has changed much in hamburg since I was last here

but then, fireworks thrown by kids in the street. new year’s eve party with savoury cheesecake and orange crème. olaf thought his musical career was over. preparing to bury my mother that forthcoming february.  watching fireworks with my then fiancée over the elbe from ines’balcony. driving too fast from stefan and ralf’s weekend retreat near the denmark border to hamburg airport to make sure he doesn’t miss the end of 2023 celebrations. us four drinking around their kitchen table. you were hovering in the distance back home. bolled egg eaten out of a light blue coloured cockerel egg cup

and now, olaf is playing at the london palladium in october. they’ve changed the typeface on the station signs on the s-bahn. my father has been taking flowers to my mother’s grave for nearly 18 months. visited the same art galleries as last time, but different exhibitions. a gentle flirt with the receptionist at the kunstverein, he gave me a free entrance ticket. it’s only me, stefan and ralf around their kitchen table. prefer the macadamia paste now. who’d have thought that our friendship would go this way. learnt that cockerel egg cup was a once most sought after object in east germany as was only available in west germany. only need to make the guest sofa bed up in their lounge for one not two, and i’m missing you,

who knew.