Gerald Jatzek is a poet and musician from Vienna, Austria, who writes in German and English. He published books for children and adults, short stories, plays for radio and essays. 2001 he got the Austrian State Prize for Children’s Poetry. His books have been translated into Korean and Turkish, his poems have appeared in anthologies and literature  papers in Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, the Netherlands and the UK. He runs a facebook page on poetry in several languages at https://www.facebook.com/jatzekpoesie/

Artwork by Gabriele Müller

Gabriele Müller is an Austrian-Spanish translator and a painter. She spent many years in South and Central America and lives now in Lower Austria. Her artwork has been shown in exhibitions in Austria and Guatemala. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies in Austria and Germany.

Deep Sea

Those that build themselves
iron armors, black
and white and golden, thousands
of meters under the surface.
 
Those that stun everyone,
flashing streaks of light,
before they embrace their prey
with ten red arms.
 
Those that digest bones
without mouth and stomach,
scores of dwarfish males
live inside a female.
 
Those that change their color
while they change their sex,
 
worlds apart or just
some miles away.

Encounter with Olms

They placed their torches near the spot
where the river entered the cave,
disrupting the sleep of bats
that subsequently formed a halo
above the priest's head.
 
They didn't listen to his sermons
when they slaughtered the tiny dragons
from the inner mountain's realm.
The fiends held no blood. Therefore
they sealed the entrance with ashen crosses.