Goethe Poem by Herbert Nehrlich

It was his mother,
wearing petticoat
and powdered Camomille,
at tea, with Frau Charlotte.

'The lad will soon commence,
I'm telling you in confidence,
constructing verse and rhyme,
I've seen the light inside his eyes,
a teacher always knows.'

Inside the cubbyhole he crouched,
a frog in a cigarbox being fed
fresh insects from the garden.
It was applied biology for frog and boy.

He overheard the idle talk
between his mother and the teacher.
And was thus scripted for a life,
that would produce a treasury
of immortal poetry for all.