I created magic with scissors, some saySilhouette animation was my bailiwickBlack-cut characters emerged in shadow play I mastered how to scherenschnitte real quickIn youth I was Charlotte from CharlottenburgAt my open-air school I never got sick Tuberculosis had recently occurredThus, the best therapy was sun-kissed fresh airHence, my inspiration took flight like a bird Chinese shadow puppetry made me awareOf the potential of these cut-out figuresI first longed to be an actress anywhere My family shows were early transmittersOf the technique I would then use for filmGeorges Méliès and Paul Wegener were my mentors My silhouette storytelling was fluidly primStop-motion animation was its kindredWorking for Max Reinhardt’s stagings was no whim Even the title-cards I made elatedThe Institut für Kulturforschung then followedBy avantgardists I was fascinated There, my relationship with Carl Koch took holdWe tied the knot and my love grew each day moreMeanwhile with my animated art I showed Fable-like wonder and ancient myths galoreFirst, The Ornament Of The Enamoured HeartThat short film, other work requests would procure I got a knack for the advertising artI made a falcon dream sequence for Fritz LangThen came financier Louis Haggin’s support He banked on my work and my praises he sangThe Adventures of Prince Achmed were much desiredThis feature debut came out with a huge bang One Thousand And One Night tales had it inspiredEnchantment was brought by Wolfgang Zeller’s scoreThe queer experience I fully inquired To destigmatise homosexual amourBut distribution censored this objectiveMy dark shaped craft was lauded by Jean Renoir I possessed fairy hands in his perspectiveI contrived the first multi-plane cameraPlanes of glass to the eyes were deceptive My tricktisch surprises were a plethoraWalt Disney and Ub Iwerks later used themMy characters emerged through an aurora I even ventured in the live-action realmOur left-wing ideas made us flee BerlinIn Germany the Nazi were at the helm We were not given visas to our chagrinMuch of the Thirties through Europe we wanderedIn Greece with Karagiozis I would begin In London GPO Film Unit I conqueredOpera influenced our work immenselyWith kind Luchino Visconti we bonded My Mama’s health made us return home swiftlyAfter a few years Great Britain claimed us backCitizenship came and work with BBC Projects came pouring in, almost without trackTelecasting America hired me tooThen my Carl left me after a heart attack Now I felt my life had nothing left to doWhen I then re-emerged from my seclusionThree final short films I managed to pursue Order of Merits for my contributionI, Lotte Reiniger received with gratitudeAnd pondered if it was just an illusion I peeked in the Eighties and its attitudeAt this point the quiver was full of arrowsAnimated films had reached their magnitudeSo will my legacy stay in the shadows?Will my paper-cut silhouettes be forgotten?Or will they ensorcell unforeseen hallows?