Cultural Exchange
Milo said it had to be a Pilsner,
dry as a saint’s bones; so we invited
Tomasz, the Czech craft brewer,
who brought yeast through Heathrow in a plastic bag.
We used pale malt, a complicated mash,
Saaz hops (minty, grassy, herbal); ran
a slow fermentation, then we lagered it
cool in the tank for weeks and weeks,
but good things are always worth the wait.
On Tyn, a cobbled street in Prague,
we found a bar, with pavement tables,
where the English stag-night boys argued,
steadily drinking Staropromen;
‘We don’t see the benefit of being European.’
I looked around at the painted gables
of Bohemia’s peaceable heart;
‘Well, for one thing, you’re here.
Drinking this beer.’
When we racked it, we were happier
than a lion with two tails. And the yeast,
a lively souvenir from Wenceslas Square,
thriving within sight of Windsor Castle.
Republika – a Prague Spring on the taste buds,
a Velvet Revolution in tall, cold glasses.
I’ve never posted a poem of my own on The Stare’s Nest before but I thought this would fit the bill rather neatly. It was written after a long weekend in Prague, and spending time as Poet in Residence at the Windsor and Eton Brewery in the summer of 2012.
Lovely poem, by which I mean the way it builds, is built, with the interruption in italics as you/we wait… That’s successful. Also the granularity of the details illuminates how the exchange works, the kinds of attention it demands. The bit of dialogue serves several purposes. The playfulness on the metaphorical level — Velvet Revolution!– suggests attitudes and competences required if unity is to be more than an ideological and hegemonical ploy. Just reading the poem closely gives one hope.
Thank you! Thanks for reading it so closely. Never give up hope!
So glad you gave into the impulse to post this — it’s brilliant! Much enjoyed. – Laura M Kaminski
Oh, thank you Laura! Lots more lovely poems to come.
Post away! This is a good one to read, and to reflect upon, too.
Thank you!