A story to unfold Excerpt: European waistlines Poem by Ida Börjel

The German mother is the mother of all things. The German mother knows when to take part and when to leave it open. The British mother fears her sons and daughters. The Danish mother will not leave her house without a cigar. The German mother always picks which clothes her family should wear so that she can spot them easily in a crowd. I stand to be brought up like a good steady German mother. I stand to know the difference between this and that. The German mother stands determined in the kitchen door. The German mother knows the difference and the shapes and the limit. The German mother knows what belongs in which places and does not need to say it out loud. I practice to be the mother of all intentions. I practice to separate emotion from it all. The Swedish mother always puts feelings into everything and cannot separate the mourning from the joy. The French have it all mixed up. The Luxembourgian mother cannot grasp anything wider than the Luxembourgian border. I stand to practice to be the German mother. I learn each particular place for things to put in the kitchen or in our hall. German children need strong decent steady German mothers to show them how to cope with it all. German husbands need firm muscular flesh in big amounts to keep calm in the house. German mothers do not need each other to talk to. They stand without hesitation keeping watch over the hall. German mothers do not take any spirits to sweep away the day before night-time. They have their hands full and need not cry or understand it all, how it has become
translation by Linda Rugg