poem “One Spring: Austria”, a poem about spending a brief amount of time in one country and seeing all of the differences you can before moving on, By Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers

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One Spring: Austria
Janet Kuypers
1/17/24
When walking through the sixty degree
slanted streets in Austria, you understand quickly
why walking Europeans are thinner
than us fat Americans. We drive everywhere,
then pay money to use a gym
to help us lose weight gained from this rich life.
I saw Mozart references everywhere
and it was great to be in Salzburg, the town
where this genius musician was born.
But while looking for a place to eat, I saw “Salzburger”
listed on many diner signs. I asked if this was a kind of
hamburger, and they told me no, it’s a reference
to being from Salzburg. Welcome to an American unclear
on the concept... thinking I was being funny I then said,
“I guess Mozart was a Salzburger...” ellipses question mark?
Boldly proclaiming we should hike one of those Alps,
I wore sandals and socks a third of the way up before I was
carried down past blocked routes with ice-water-soaked feet.
After the hikes, I rested in the Gastein Curative Tunnel.
You see, this tunnel’s a tourist spot because
miners would feel rejuvenated after working in it
until they realized that the tunnel was loaded with Radon.
And sure, long-term exposure might be bad
but after sweating buckets of water
from laying down in these mines for 20 minutes
you actually felt better, rejuvenated
and ready to climb a mountain tomorrow.

Copyright © Janet Kuypers.

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