A Night With Yoric by Klaus J. Gerken (2012) Part IV Section I 7am Thoughts...(after being up all night) Nothing's real, it's all made up, We are just the rim around a coffee cup. I know there is an answer, Just don't know what it is; If you help me through the evening, I'll betray you with a kiss. So life is pretty normal, The spring is mighty hot, We are proud to slay the dragon In a dirty parking lot. When they find us in the morning It's too late to see the stars That formed upon our eyelids In a carousel of art. 20 March 2012 * "Tales of the bench (Continued): I saw a woman on the street this morning. She wore the painted mask of a greek tragedy. She stopped about ten feet in front of me and laughed at nothing, only it was more like a cackle, and her eyes grew wide and black and hollow like Medusa must have looked that ugly night of torment. Then she drew her chin to her chest, grimaced and walked slowly by me as on her way to death." * "On any journey Always have a purpose. Never just be a tourist. And coming home, Have the satisfaction Of accomplishment. Klaus J. Gerken 6 March 2012" * "From an interview I gave in the late 90's: "Just as we become irritated at the small child continuously asking why. And why is that? Because the Why is not just the question, it is also the answer. In fact there can be no other answer, because there is no ultimate truth; No ultimate reality; No ultimate anything except this self aware moment. And even that is tenuous."" * "?" The butterfly predicts the weather, but who can predict the butterfly?" My ancient saying. (KJG)" * "I was half sleeping/dreaming on my sofa and this walked into my mind. Couldn't go back to sleep without writing it down. Probably makes no sense at all, but here, like Xanadu, it is. 3 A.M. Ramble There are these various matters that couldn't be undone I lied to you I cried to you I tangled up the ladder with vines of woolen twang I sobbed into a violin and coughed into a cello I laughed into a guitar and wasted what was hollow I wasted a solution and recommended one that wasn't I came on like a sailor and wounded like an eagle and sometimes I am neither savior or a devil sometimes I'm just human begging bread and water love is no religion and sex is not the answer I hold the sacred diamond but give it to no finger suddenly I falter and cry upon your shoulder Should I have a purpose should this song have meaning tell me sometimes later when bodies aren't screaming in Hades or Valhalla there must be better karma than what we can remember one more glass of hemlock and life will feel much better so give me grace and wonder or give me what's asunder I have no better offer than being silent matter hold me tight and whisper what you will not whisper if I truly listen will I truly listen silence is a given where we seek resurgence and most of all forgiveness for what we have not conquered I bow to you my master can anyone be master the sky and the expansion of universal sanction a dream that is remembered is not a dream accepted we cannot always be us on the sacrificial alter the pyramid that reaches and crumbles from the sky the holy water trickles into the leaky cistern who of us should drink it who of us is thirsty who of us shall starve and who shall become holy the martyrs of the mountain slaughtered in surrender knew the holy treasure left history forsaken we who search the mountains deserts and the alleys for gems in trash compactors reviled by human nature bow to what's eternal and beg for no forgiveness the dust is our salvation the rust our reservation what's left we swallow slowly as if there was no other exhaled bit of matter that doesn't stir the batter I do not know what happens when the lights go out sometimes when I wake up there's little left but love and that might well be lust not fondled into trust the star revolve above me the earth a dizzy place a palace of disaster where skulls crush what is made peaceful and surrender death and rot and hate I wake to this amazement it rots me to the heart I falter in appeasement and give not gentle fart So whoever tonight reads this it was written in a dream I wrote it as a lament I wrote it as a scream Klaus J. Gerken 350am 28 Feb 2012" * "Here's a new one for me: On my way home from the corner store two women about my age walk toward me; seeing me they whisper to each other, then cross a treacherous snow bank to go to the other side of the street until I am safely past them, then return to my side of the street. I thought to myself, "Hey Ladies, I'm an old man with a cane, and the only intentions I have is to get home as fast as possible with a very heavy bag of cat litter before my back collapses." When did we become a society where we live in fear of everything, even old men hobbling by with a bum leg and a cane? It was such a different world when I grew up." * "Believe it or not, but there is one person on the street who used to work for me as a clerk in the mid 80's. He had a fascinating mind. You could discuss anything from particle physics to poetry with him. Now, after some years in a shelter, he quotes nothing but scripture. And Kel, why are they doing the work the "gospel directs them to do"? They can't do it without the gospel? You don't have a very good impression of humanity do you? It's akin to people needing some kind of fantasy that the pyramids were built by aliens from another planet. I help where and when I can, but I don't need the gospel to tell me to do so. Have you actually spoken to some of the homeless who hang around Somerset Street? I haven't found one who doesn't quote the "gospel", even when stoned. I don't think they get there on their own. Let's leave this." * "I am beginning to realize that with all our posturing in having a secular society there is no such thing. We are still primitive superstitious beings, only now with weapons of terror at our disposal. Chilling." * "The truth is rather mundane. Lots of sweat and hard work. One should rather concentrate on why the US government won't allow the hundreds of pyramids in North America to be excavate, but then we know that already. That would point to the destruction of a genuine "society" and not just "savages". They can't allow that to happen. And you are right, the victors do write the histories. And here then is a fact you might not know about ancient Egypt, it was succeeding Pharaohs who robbed most of the tombs and not tomb robbers. Tomb robbers usually came after and took what was left behind. In late dynastic times the Pyramids were already being dismantled for their masonry. Most of the tombs were empty by the late 20th dynasty, a good 3,000 years ago. The Visoko thing is a hoax, brings much needed tourism. Work permits have already been revoked. Pyramids in France and Greece are modeled on the ones in Egypt and are no taller than your own house. The pyramids in China, as those in North America (as opposed to Central and South America) are earthen mounds covering a grave. There is nothing mysterious in any if this if you dig deep into your history books. And Egyptian civilization didn't just spring up over night. Before the great pyramids there was a thousand year pre-dynastic period of Upper and Lower Egypt unified under Menes. Upper and lower Egypt had their own mastabas which slowly lead to the Step pyramid of Zoser, itself at first a mastaba and then build up over successive layers. Then slowly the pyramid from was refined over hundreds of years. And it is not surprising the pyramid form is universal over the earth: it is the easiest way to build a tall structure." * Poets ponder things. And through pondering they expand the language. And through expanding the language they expand the comprehension of humanity. And what if we just killed the poets? There will be others ... You might be able to kill a poet But you will never be able to kill poetry. KJG 8 March 2012 * As music is the language of perception; Poetry will always be the language of conception. KJG 8 March 2012 * The voice of hunger will always ravage the voice of reason. 17 March 2012 * Here is a dream I just had. Strange but the scenes were numbered just like this in the dream: In a small remote village in Switzerland. 1. The Inn-keeper came running to the Mayor and shouted in agitation, "We have gremlins!" 2. The Mayor grew all excited, (as did his wife) and he too shouted, "Oh no, not gremlins!...how do you know?" 3. The Inn-keeper said, "Things have been disappearing all over the house, jewelry boxes, my war medals, tools...It happens each night when we are asleep. My wife and I hear strange noises and when I investigate there is no one there." 4. "The you have gremlins!" the Mayor reiterated, "We must call in the constable to investigate!" 5. So they told the constable and he said, "Balderdash! You have a thief. You probably just leave your windows open and that's how he gets in each night. Or someone staying at the Inn let's him in." 5. "We don't!" The Inn-keeper was annoyed. 6. "Well then we will just have lie in wait for him." 7. They went back to the Inn and as I was the only guest they interrogated me and I had not heard anything since I only arrived that morning. So they asked me to help. I'm sure that was to keep an eye on me! 8. That night there was a commotion in one of the rooms and we indeed discovered a thief. The constable arrested him but since he had no jail and the constable in the next village could not come until morning we had to hold him at the Inn. 9. We tied the prisoner to a chair and settled down to wait. While we were waiting I asked if I could watch some TV. The constable said fine and I put the local show on. The prisoner seemed to be amused at this. 10. Looking around to see what might have been stolen I saw a rope in the middle of the room strangely coming out of the floor. I tucked at it. 11. Then it seemed as if there was some kind of electrical disturbance and the TV went all squiggly and all of a sudden a vortex opened up in the centre of the room and almost swallowed me. 12 I jumped back and the Ghost Hunter who had just arrived with the Inn-keeper shouted, "That's it! That's it!" and we looked down the vortex into the abyss. Then we pulled on the rope and brought up some boxes and cases and glasses and other things. But he boxes were empty and the jewels and the medals that had been in them were gone and the glasses were broken. 13. "We must examine what is down there," the ghost hunter said. 14. "But first we must send down a camera to see if it is safe." 15. So I got my camera, hooked it up to the TV and we lowered it down tied to the rope. 16. Suddenly the rope broke and a head came out of the vortex and it was Q from Star Trek and he looked around. 17. "What is this? What is this? Where is my assistant?" And before he could see us we pulled him up out of the vortex. 18. "See here," he strenuously objected, "You have no right to do this!" brushing some dust off his clothes. 19. "We have every right. I want my camera back!" I said. 20. "And I want my jewelry and medals back, and everything else you have stolen!" The Inn-keeper insisted. Emphatically. 21. "OK, OK, If you insist. But you will have to release my assistant first." 22. The constable objected! 23. The Mayor who had also arrived told the constable to do so. The constable objected strenuously, but grumbled and did as he was told. 24. "So, off we go" Q said matter-of-factly. 25. Not so fast the Ghost Hunter stopped them. We will go with you, just to make sure you keep your promise to return everything. 26. "Oh alright, if you insist!" Q said with a sigh and we all jumped into the vortex together, The Ghost Hunter, Myself, Q and his assistant. 27. Once through the vortex we were in a large cavern, well lit with tunnels leading off to other chambers. 28. We went to one of these chambers and found the stolen loot along with much more stolen from all over town. 29. We scooped up the loot and shoved it through the vortex. 30. When it was time to go back. The assistant ran away and hid, and we did not go after him. But we did tell Q he had to come with us and be held accountable for what he did. "Oh, if you insist," Q said, "Lead the way." 31. The Ghost Hunter went back up first, but when it was Q's turn and he refused to go. 32. I grabbed him and tried to shove him into the vortex while the Ghost Hunter reached down and tried to pull him up. 33. But Q fell down and landed on top of me. Not once, but twice 34. I tried to shove him through the vortex a third time and just as the Ghost Hunter grabbed one of Q's hands... Cindy woke me asking, "Are you asleep?" I tried to float back to sleep but couldn't. The dream was gone. Klaus J. Gerken 30 March 2012 * The End of the Bible People are running hither and fro Even sometimes I don't know where to go Seems like everything is in chaos these days Listening to the devil in a purple haze To keep privacy in keep your damask curtains closed Even the government shoves a camera up your nose I don't know if I'm ready but I feel that it's close It's the end of the Bible There's a wave of commitment that gathers a tear Feeds us insanity with a spoonful of fear I don't think I like it but who should I blame The dark clouds of labour or a fuddled up brain I'm old and I'm cranky and my back's full of pain The drugs they don't help me and there little to gain I don't know if I'm ready but it's better than going insane It's the end of the Bible There's truth in the oven and there's truth on the hill There's an alley we piss in and a vision to kill There's the garbage collector who never gives up With a full moon tomorrow Krakatoa erupts And a city of ruins will rise from the mud And they'll marvel at scenes where aristocrats fuck I don't know if I'm ready but I still want my cut It's the end of the Bible You tell me there's hope for people like me You tell me at one point even slaves were set free I know I'm a skeptic I just hope that you're right I'm not quite convince there won't be a fight But I had a good sleep and I feel like the spring A renewed energy and a hope it can bring I don't if it's true but I don't want to swing It's the end of the Bible The horizon it crumbles into the sea The sun bleeds a redness and shivers with glee The circus clown gathers the sword swallower up There's little to salvage except for the blood It comes in waves and leaves like the tide It sucks everything from the womb of the bride I don't know if I'm ready but there's no place to hide It's the end of the Bible Jonah is laughing in the belly of the whale "I'm safe here believe me," he inconsequently wails And the road to Damascus is delusion at best A prophet is born where a politician's suspect From Krishna to Buddha and Jesus to Allah We fall where the sword takes us into Valhalla I don't know if I'm ready but the troops are on the move It's the end of the Bible So strike another match boys the soot is too thick My nostrils are burning got to get out of here quick But the ships are on fire and the bridge has collapsed There's a wonderful argument that the winner is last I feel a bit empty I'll take a short rest Go on without me and feel a bit blessed I don't know if I'm ready but I'll just wait here and rest It's the end of the Bible. 3 April 2012 (c) Klaus J. Gerken" * Sometimes just sometimes a poem cannot be explained like mist on an exploding mountain 122pm 20120403 * Age As a child I used to remember hours that felt like years; as a teenager I used to remember days that felt like months; as a young man I used to remember weeks that actually felt like weeks; as a middle aged man I remembered years that felt like months; and later months that felt like weeks; and now, as an old man, I hardly remember the years at all. 3pm 20120403 * Resonance by candle light by candle light i flicker in the night night night light Klaus J. Gerken 214pm 9 April 2012 * Reality Dreams My computer monitor flickers I wink my cat thinks my computer screen does not. Klaus J. Gerken 219pm 9 April 2012 * Red Wheelbarrow When my teacher in high school explained to the class what William Carlos Williams' Red Wheelbarrow meant as poetry and why it was important for us to know I simply said: I used to own one. Klaus J. Gerken 229pm 9 April 2012 * Presentiment who wanders forth cannot afford to hold on to anything that might destroy the future Klaus J. Gerken 253pm 9 April 2012 * Begotten And I am only one of many with only one view of the world Klaus J. Gerken 4pm 9 April 2012 * Sensory Knowledge Jazzie(1) shed a whisker an ivory tusk of navigation what wisdom has been compromised? (1) Jazzie is one of my cats. Klaus J. Gerken 421pm 9 April 2012 * Wisdom Those who are sure of everything are sure of nothing wisdom works like that Klaus J. Gerken 446pm 9 April 2012 * Luminosity On my way to the store this morning a single beam of sunlight crept through the thick dark rain clouds and luminously shone on me I felt like I was zapped by the gods. Klaus J. Gerken 1120am 10 April 2012 * Healing Let your body dictate what it needs; let your mind dictates what it wants. Klaus J. Gerken 330pm 10 April 2012 * Conspiracy Theories We suspend reality when the truth becomes too fantastic to believe. Klaus J. Gerken 520pm 10 April 2012 * Midnight revel Once I danced naked beneath the light of Arcturus sunglasses and sun screen optional Klaus J. Gerken 538pm 10 April 2012 * Feats We honour those who climb the mountain because they want to; We still dismiss those who climb the mountain because they have to. Klaus J. Gerken 558pm 10 April 2012 * ?4 A.M. Madness Poem it's a three A.M. hunger I cannot contain; it's mighty indulgent, and floods my brain - otherwise called waiting because I can't sleep... i'm over-indulgent in what i must reap. clear-headed madness, a poet's revenge, for hanging on branches that will never bend. the truth is I'm wasted, i'm torn and i'm lost in the scheme of commitment i calculate cost. a fraction of penny...is there such a thing? the weight settles on me...the darkness grows thin. no voices to soothe me, no owl on the hoot i realize fractions contain several roots. perhaps if i slumbered without this excess i might wake up easy without this duress? Klaus J. Gerken 414am 11 April 2012 * Feeling uneasy? Fear is when we sacrifice reason for platitudes and the platitudes are not reciprocated Klaus J. Gerken 445am 11 April 2012 * Zing! A healthy dose of reality is like a splinter to those who don't carry tweezers. Klaus J. Gerken 1155am 11 April 2012 * Spring When I lived in the country the air was pregnant with spring now living in the city the air is full of dust there is no trade off as far as I can see... When I eat an apple I like to eat an apple not chemicals... Klaus J. Gerken 541pm 11 April 2012 * Retirement I am old My walls are full of past achievements Klaus J. Gerken 549pm 11 April 2012 (And no, I am not writing here about myself...Rather I am thinking of too many of my former colleagues) * Slam Dunk! Sometimes when I think I have a great thought it's more like a slam dunk through a loop and on return the ball dribbles endlessly... Klaus J. Gerken 1004pm 11 April 2012 * Wonder My cats constantly amaze me... I wonder if I amaze them just as much? Klaus J. Gerken 1107am 12 April 2012 * How To Teach Someone asked me, "What do I do after I retire?" I smiled and said, "Teach." "That's ridiculous," he said, "I have no diploma." "Not a problem," I said, "Teach life." Klaus J. Gerken 433pm 12 April 2012 * It's all about staying alive; How selfish can you get? 645pm 12 April 2012 * Perception There is a truth in everything; unfortunately it is not always the truth we want to hear. Klaus J. Gerken 507am Friday 13 April 2012 * There are those who pause to think, and there are those who react. I hope those who react have been taught the discipline of the former, otherwise the reaction is without substantiation. 16 April 2012 * Jazzie jumps on my desk: I ask, "Who gave you permission to jump on my desk?" Jazzie looks me straight in the eyes and emphatically intones, "Mee!" 530am 20 April 2012 * Wonder My blind cat counts the steps and never misses a beat... I can't even do that with my eyes wide open! Klaus J. Gerken 23 April 2012 * Eternity For Patrick White It is important to love things that parish; For without things that parish, Eternity is an empty dream. Klaus J. Gerken 24 April 2012 * C.P. Cavafis The City You say: I'll explore other lands, And conquer other seas foretold, To find a city that confides A better life for me to hold! Yet all my struggling here compounds The destiny that I have found: My heart (so like a watchman's lamp) Surrounds itself with this grave's damp. How long, I ask, with subdued pride Must my old ghost herein reside? I look around, as far as I can see, Surveying life's insufferability: The structure of my life's relay Is darkness, mildew, and decay, Where I have wasted many years Walking into empty tears. But don't believe it: you'll not go To other lands, or seas you know! The city pulls you to your knees, And you will struggle in the same Streets that gather life's disease. Greeting neighbours by their name And waking each and every morn In the same structures you were born. Instead of leaving you'll return Without a shred of hope to burn, To build that boat you've striven for To carry you away once more. You are interned, is there no hope? You always did the best to cope - And through a window, closed too soon, The world is mastered from your room. Translation: 23/05/86 by Klaus J. Gerken * Shattered Sometimes we just have to get away from ourselves and shatter the mirror you see? Klaus J. Gerken 1016am 27 April 2012 * A poet's breakfast: Stilton Blue cheese, Honey Mustard & Onion pretzels and a cheap Cabernet to wash it down with. 27 Apr 2012 * We use force to fly; birds use subtlety and skill. 28 Apr 2012 * Meaning for Russ Van Rooy Things are meaningful, I suppose, because, if nothing else, we can ask the question. 30 April 2012 * Survivors Those who dance in the sunshine after a storm must always share the sunshine in their hearts with those who did not. Klaus J. Gerken 8am 3 May 2012 * Generosity is commanded by reason; not emotion. 845am 3 May 2012 KJG * Survivors Those who dance in the sunshine after surviving a storm must always share that sunshine in their hearts with those who did not. Klaus J. Gerken 8am 3 May 2012 * "The first responsibility of Government is to trust its people; barring that, it is a dictatorship." -- Klaus J. Gerken * As long as Europe continues to want to be the Roman Empire it will fail miserably (EU=4th Reich). * I am saddened at the loss of history in peoples' lives. * I have never understood how politicians can write more than Dickens, Balzac and Hugo put together (oh...throw in Tolstoy) and still say nothing that couldn't be said in a few words. * At 23 I had to justify my statements, quite correctly; now at 63, I find, those who disagree should have to justify theirs. * In a true democracy, the parties running for election should have to make a binding contract with the voters; and they must honour that contract when they become the ruling government, otherwise that government must be dissolved whether or not it has a majority or not, and an election be called. A ruling government should never have the right to claim they can do anything other than what they were elected for. * Ugly Two A.M. Poem I threw my guitar out the window It didn't have strings anyway The telephone cord has been damaged But there's nothing I can think of to say It's two in the morning on Tuesday I wanted to walk in the rain But the splatter of hubris from heaven Refused to relieve my distain I read a few pages of nothing I hoped it would put me to sleep But it woke me and tore me asunder In a void that's already too deep So I'll float where the mind cannot reason to whatever result I can reap. 155am 8 May 2012 Klaus J. Gerken * 5 A.M. All's well Beneath the thunder of the bell; And as the morning fog Slivers through the dawn The dew is on the lawn, And we are far from gone Into the backwoods of our being. One more kiss, goodbye; The sun is rising nigh. Klaus J. Gerken 8 May 2012, 3am * Reality A chair cannot be a chair unless it is self-aware it is a chair Klaus J. Gerken 508pm 11 May 2012 * Karma I once when I was old enough to know better encountered a cat having been hit by a car in the tremors of death at the side of a road I did nothing I hope when my time comes someone will do the same for me Klaus J. Gerken 1034pm 13 May 2012 * Madness All these people talking to themselves; Revelations of an inside job. 748pm 22 May 2012 * In 1973 when I resided briefly in a Buddhist monastary, the Abbot told me that I could leave when I learned what I needed to learn. I was apprenticed to a very old monk who was the worst teacher I have ever enountered, a bungling old fool who could hardly read. After some time, I mentioned this to the Abbot and asked why the old monk was still there teaching and why he had so any students who were middle aged, the Abbot smiled at me and said, "He has not transcended the first step, and neither have his students. You may leave." Sometimes the question is the answer!" 23 May 2012 * The Nature of Reality Once the truth is know, everything will be a lie. 24 May 2012 * Blues It takes a bottle to get me sober And a bottle to get me drunk The window to the sidewalks Is my only travelling trunk The clouds are turning purple And the lightning's mighty bright I watch a lot of TV But the TV hurts my sight Sometimes there a meaning And sometimes nothing holds Where the wind just rattles windows The old feel just too old To reclaim a commission For living life as such It's the argument of failure or the empty sexual touch So come to me at midnight And leave me in the dawn The bottle is my saviour It can't do much more harm Klaus J Gerken 633pm 28 May 2012 * Memories Memories are the reality of our emotions. Klaus J.Gerken 526pm 3 June 2012 * Freedom Walls only obscure the dust of tearing them down. Klaus J. Gerken 125am6 June 2012 * Compassion Ultimately the poison is not what kills, the poison is what keeps suffering alive. Klaus J. Gerken 201am 6 June 2012 * Compassion Ultimately it is not the poison that kills, but that which keeps suffering alive. Klaus J. Gerken 218am 6 June 2012 * Written in a dream One dream merged with another and became reality. Klaus J. Gerken 6 June 2012 * Looking for food, mice? Better look somewhere else - there's nothing in this hovel you might want! The good life, my friends, dried figs, fat cheese?... But just try to nibble at my books, you're dead! -- Ariston (Transl. Klaus J. Gerken 6 June 2012) * Love's not won by crying, Does an unquenchable flame succumb to a trickle of water? Gold's the cure for love, Born in Aphrodite's foam, not quenched. - Antipater of Thessalonika (Transl. Klaus J. Gerken 6 June 2012) * Incident You two snicker at my long hair and beard but what have you done young ladies to judge an old man who has accomplished more than you? Klaus J. Gerken midnight 6/7 June 2012 * Boozing at night we are comrades: At dawn, sobre, we rise enemies. - Antimedon (Trnsl. Klaus J. Gerken, 7 June 2012) * only the person asking the question can ultimately answer it. 8 June 2012 * When Reality Hits...Hard The Bodhisattva said: I have come back once; I will not be fooled again. Klaus J. Gerken 10 June 2012 * Student said to master: I am lost! Master said to student: Then get found! 240pm 19 June 2012 KJG * Without being lost you can't be found... but you can't be found if you continue being lost. * If you follow the multitude, you will only be the multitude; if you follow yourself you can be no one else but yourself. * Master asked student: What is that? Student said to master: What? Master bowed. KJG 334pm 19 June 2012 * found - god particle what? 1 July 2012 * When I die I will be nothing but fodder for worms, but when I am reassembled in another womb, I will have the disparate memories of the those whose atoms I was reassembled with. That I believe is reincarnation. 1 July 2012 * The womb really is a great assembler...it has to draw the atoms from somewhere to assemble a new being...and I believe thought patterns are inherent in those atoms the womb assembles. Yes, genes are the blueprint...but the bricks don't all come from the mother. If that were the case we'd all be clones. 1 July 2012 * One bounces like a ball bounces waiting to be caught! 1215am 7 July 2012 * Desperate Desperate they are desperate they who seek nothing. Klaus J. Gerken 1223am 7 July 2012 * Be The Present, plan the future life is a transition what you were yesterday you cannot be today and what you are today you cannot be tomorrow Klaus J. Gerken 1229am 7 July 2012 * Luminescence Dawn in Paris: Do the lights ever really go out? KJG 9:26pm 9 July 2012 * Politics There's a hollow argument where lies collide. Klaus J. Gerken 10 August 2012 * Struggle On my way to the store, Two ants on the sidewalk In a death struggle. Caesar is watching! Klaus J. Gerken 14 August 2012 *