Johnny

Schreibe etwas über die Person auf dem Bild.
Wirkt sie maskulin oder feminin auf dich?
Wodurch kommt diese Wirkung zustande?
Schreibe eine kurze Szene, in der ein feminin 
wirkender Mann einer maskulin wirkenden Frau begegnet.
Versuche, Klischees zu vermeiden und erfinde frische
Bilder, die maskuline und feminine Eigenschaften 
zeigen, ohne sie einem Geschlecht zuzuordnen. 

W. H. Auden (1907-73)4     "O the valley in the summer where I and my John"

O the valley in the summer where I and my John 
Beside the deep river would walk on and on 
While the flowers at our feet and the birds up above 
Argued so sweetly on reciprocal love, 
And I leaned on his shoulder; ‘O Johnny, let’s play’: 
But he frowned like thunder and he went away. 

O that Friday near Christmas as I well recall 
When we went to the Charity Matinee Ball, 
The floor was so smooth and the band was so loud 
And Johnny so handsome I felt so proud; 
‘Squeeze me tighter, dear Johnny, let’s dance till it’s day’: 
But he frowned like thunder and he went away. 

Shall I ever forget at the Grand Opera 
When music poured out of each wonderful star? 
Diamonds and pearls they hung dazzling down 
Over each silver or golden silk gown; 
‘O John I’m in heaven,’ I whispered to say: 
But he frowned like thunder and he went away. 

O but he was as fair as a garden in flower, 
As slender and tall as the great Eiffel Tower, 
When the waltz throbbed out on the long promenade 
O his eyes and his smile they went straight to my heart; 
‘O marry me, Johnny, I’ll love and obey’: 
But he frowned like thunder and he went away. 

O last night I dreamed of you, Johnny, my lover, 
You’d the sun on one arm and the moon on the other, 
The sea it was blue and the grass it was green, 
Every star rattled a round tambourine
Ten thousand miles deep in a pit there I lay: 
But you frowned like thunder and you went away.

1937 (From W. H. Auden:Collected Poems. Ed. Edward Mendelson. 
Franklin Center, PA: The Franklin Library, 1976)

 

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