I created magic with scissors, some say
Silhouette animation was my bailiwick
Black-cut characters emerged in shadow play

I mastered how to scherenschnitte real quick
In youth I was Charlotte from Charlottenburg
At my open-air school I never got sick

Tuberculosis had recently occurred
Thus, the best therapy was sun-kissed fresh air
Hence, my inspiration took flight like a bird

Chinese shadow puppetry made me aware
Of the potential of these cut-out figures
I first longed to be an actress anywhere

My family shows were early transmitters
Of the technique I would then use for film
Georges Méliès and Paul Wegener were my mentors

My silhouette storytelling was fluidly prim
Stop-motion animation was its kindred
Working for Max Reinhardt’s stagings was no whim

Even the title-cards I made elated
The Institut für Kulturforschung then followed
By avantgardists I was fascinated

There, my relationship with Carl Koch took hold
We tied the knot and my love grew each day more
Meanwhile with my animated art I showed

Fable-like wonder and ancient myths galore
First, The Ornament Of The Enamoured Heart
That short film, other work requests would procure

I got a knack for the advertising art
I made a falcon dream sequence for Fritz Lang
Then came financier Louis Haggin’s support

He banked on my work and my praises he sang
The Adventures of Prince Achmed were much desired
This feature debut came out with a huge bang

One Thousand And One Night tales had it inspired
Enchantment was brought by Wolfgang Zeller’s score
The queer experience I fully inquired

To destigmatise homosexual amour
But distribution censored this objective
My dark shaped craft was lauded by Jean Renoir

I possessed fairy hands in his perspective
I contrived the first multi-plane camera
Planes of glass to the eyes were deceptive

My tricktisch surprises were a plethora
Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks later used them
My characters emerged through an aurora

I even ventured in the live-action realm
Our left-wing ideas made us flee Berlin
In Germany the Nazi were at the helm

We were not given visas to our chagrin
Much of the Thirties through Europe we wandered
In Greece with Karagiozis I would begin

In London GPO Film Unit I conquered
Opera influenced our work immensely
With kind Luchino Visconti we bonded

My Mama’s health made us return home swiftly
After a few years Great Britain claimed us back
Citizenship came and work with BBC

Projects came pouring in, almost without track
Telecasting America hired me too
Then my Carl left me after a heart attack

Now I felt my life had nothing left to do
When I then re-emerged from my seclusion
Three final short films I managed to pursue

Order of Merits for my contribution
I, Lotte Reiniger received with gratitude
And pondered if it was just an illusion

I peeked in the Eighties and its attitude
At this point the quiver was full of arrows
Animated films had reached their magnitude

So will my legacy stay in the shadows?
Will my paper-cut silhouettes be forgotten?
Or will they ensorcell unforeseen hallows?