Dieser Beitrag ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar

I promised a friend of mine to publish this poem after having relaunched my blog.
The background story: She moved away to work in another city. This poem was a farewell gift, so that she wouldn’t forget us.
It is still hanging on the wall in her living room. (in German)

Ruhr Valley Love

We’re breathing vapour,
coal is running through our veins,
life is art,
no time to stop, restart.
Nobody can take our dreams from us,
because where the sun, the moon and the stars gather dust,
deep down in the West
we feel at home, we are at our best.
No matter where we are,
where we stop and where we start,
this will always remain home
at least in our hearts.
The storms we defy
and overcome the pain, although we might cry,
we breast the tide
to see the horizon, oh so wide,
the foam we are restraining,
because where Krupp Steel is framing
the landscape
we know the asphalt, the fields and every escape.
Where the roar of industry echoes in our chests
we feel at home, our souls at rest.
We travel the world, together and alone,
but where there is love, there is home.
Don’t you forget and always know:
Our love is with you, wherever you go.

Gina Laventura © 2013