Where am I, then? Pilies gat-
ve, Daukanto aikšte... broad, empty streets,
Delapidated rococo palaces, poor squat
houses (lop-sided and crumbling), feats
Of stucco-work hidden behind soaring white
Northern baroque facades. Up on the Toom-
pea, down Kohtu and the long Pikk Jalg...tight
Cobbled alleys, walls of ochre, a dome,
Towers and turrets visible over gird-
ling battlements. So where can I be? In fact,
Vilnius and Tallinn, though in a way you’d not have erred
Much guessing Buda or Prague. But, to be exact,
These Baltic capitals lie centuries further back,
Offering all that the others – and we – sadly now lack.
ve, Daukanto aikšte... broad, empty streets,
Delapidated rococo palaces, poor squat
houses (lop-sided and crumbling), feats
Of stucco-work hidden behind soaring white
Northern baroque facades. Up on the Toom-
pea, down Kohtu and the long Pikk Jalg...tight
Cobbled alleys, walls of ochre, a dome,
Towers and turrets visible over gird-
ling battlements. So where can I be? In fact,
Vilnius and Tallinn, though in a way you’d not have erred
Much guessing Buda or Prague. But, to be exact,
These Baltic capitals lie centuries further back,
Offering all that the others – and we – sadly now lack.
(4.4.1997)
