Question
Read his poem Messze, messze in English and try to guess what countries he describes in each verse!
Far, far away
[blank_start]Spain[blank_end]. Fields that glow with colours bright.
Minaret's shade a lace delight.
Sad donna on a balcony
ponders the sunsets alchemy.
[blank_start]Italy[blank_end]. The clouds are curly,
sultry air, skies brighten early.
From the fountains water hurtles.
Crumbling marbles, tired myrtles.
[blank_start]Greece[blank_end]. Crags and ruins, quite list,
sad mountain-tops that ooze the mist.
The air is thick and bare the rise.
Flock, shepherd, fir and edelweiss.
[blank_start]Switzerland[blank_end]. Chamois, mountains: vast.
Farmstead above the overcast.
Valleys are dark green, icy ground:
bite-worthy, clean, the air around.
[blank_start]Germany[blank_end]. Towns, old houses. Fact:
timber-framed floors neath roofs are stacked.
Old wells and jugs, trade-signs on chains,
fat citizens and narrow lanes.
[blank_start]France[blank_end]. A frivolous folk, good cheer,
displays and pictures far and near!
What bustle, movement, noise and blare:
bells, horns, machines are everywhere.
[blank_start]England[blank_end], The fog-banks, the bridges,
Chimney-stacks smoking on ridges.
Palaces, parks, a playing field,
flocks, fat from what the pastures yield.
[blank_start]Sweden[blank_end]., The lacy fjords descend,
and with the dark-blue waters blend.
Huge trees, the crystal seas beyond,
big-faced the people are, and blonde.
What plethora of folk, of towns,
What beauty everywhere abounds!
How cruel orphan's fate can be:
all this I cannot ever see!