The Old German Problem

THE OLD GERMAN PROBLEM The burghers of Hamburg are themselves usually Hamburgers, so there! The burghers of Frankfurt are themselves usually Frankfurters, it‘s only fair! But it’s possible to meet Frankfurter Hamburger burghers And you can also find Hamburger Frankfurter burghers Hamburger burghers can eat hamburgers, a delicious dish And Frankfurter burghers can eat frankfurters, if they wish But hamburgers can be made in Frankfurt: they are not horrible And frankfurters can be made in Hamburg : it is easily possible So Frankfurter burghers can eat Hamburger frankfurters, with salt And Hamburger burghers can eat Frankfurter hamburgers, without halt No doubt Frankfurter burghers can also eat Frankfurter frankfurters, ‘sright And Hamburger burghers can also eat Hamburger hamburgers all night But what puzzles me, and maybe you too, God knows, Is what to make of these German guys who like to eat as follows: Frankfurter Hamburger burghers eating Hamburger frankfurters Or Hamburger Frankfurter burghers eating Frankfurter hamburgers Too complicated? Ok, try a piece o’ Pisa Pizza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOTES Hamburger : adjective derived from Hamburg, or a meat dish named after the city Frankfurter : adjective derived from Frankfurt, or a meat dish named after the city Burgher : old-fashioned name for a city citizen ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. *Entered in no contest, because no one has organized a silly GERMAN FOOD contest yet. ** I am aware that some geographical zealots object to my poems on gastronomical grounds, and some gastronomical zealots object to them on geographical grounds. My apologies to all.