I see her in the puddles shimmering in the subway entrance

on the scaffolding of post-war apartment buildings

where she once held passionate court

Her voice echoes still in the bustle of Berlin,

through the prison bars that sought to restrain her

bold, antifacist, and lesbian.

Now I sit in that cafe

where she spent her later years

mourning the death of her young lover

I blow a kiss to you, Hilde Radusch

and the road you’ve paved for me