FROM BERLIN TO HAMBURG

There he goes again
With his knapsack
Hanging on his back
Like a soldier of fortune
Just one phone call
And he's on the move
From Berlin to Hamburg.

Don't forget to comb your hair
Remember to pay your fare
Restless tramp!
How long will you continue
To journey back and forth
Through the long, dark
tunnel of life?

He sits on the upper deck
of the omnibus
Ominously surveying his
surroundings with a feeling
of deja vu
And then he remembers with
a jolt
His trip from Africa on the
wings of an eagle:
Soporific lights
Adjustable seats
And lofty dreams
But because of his restlessness,
he cannot sleep
Whether it is a three-hour journey
from Berlin to Hamburg
Or an eight-hour journey
from Africa to Europe.

Now you are at your destination
But you are still light years away
from the bull's eye
You'd be a fool to thump your chest
and proclaim veni, vidi, vici
When the whole world is pitched
against you
In the mother of all battles:
The battle for survival
You've arrived indeed, but
"you ain't seen nothing yet"
That is why you are always
on the road shuttling
between Berlin and Hamburg
In search of the golden fleece
A tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp
Which, of necessity,
must glow like a fire-fly
Illuminating the long, dark tunnel
from Berlin to Hamburg.