… two souls …
Recently a dream reminded me of the hybrid nature of my soul, a life composed by two different languages in two different countries. I re-visited a post from 2013, which has also one or two links worth exploring, including a lovely poem, called ‘My Village.’
A quote from Goethe’s Faust comes to mind …
“Zwei Seelen wohnen ach in meiner Brust” … Two souls alas are dwelling in my breast … The quote chimes, since, in a way the second language re-grew wings for me that were clipped by early experiences. The quote does not specifically address Faust’s conflict between earthly and divine desires, but it lets me see my roots from a wider and deeper perspective. I talk to myself in English, and I wrote poetry and two novels in that acquired language. It’s where my thoughts flow. However, when communicating with the few German friends I have left, I sometimes struggle to find the equivalent German words for what I want to express.
German is a beautiful language. I grew up with philosophies in the slipstream of romanticism, loved its classic composers, soothing lullabies, poets and writers like Goethe, Heine, Rilke etc. … German culture is the basic hum, a ground note sustaining the deepest feelings that nourish my existence.
I occasionally read books in German, but it saddens me that I neglected my mother tongue, and apart from singing some lullabies did not talk it with my child.
I wonder how other people navigate the givens of two or more languages in their lives.
