Letter to my Family
Dear Family
Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen,
Die sich uber die Dinge ziehn.
Ich werde den letzten vielleicht nicht vollbringen,
Aber versuchen will ich ihn.
So sings Rainer Maria Rilke. I also live my life in ever expanding circles.
Perhaps I can never achieve the final, but this is my attempt.
I am learning German, the mother tongue of my father, Adolf the Jew.
Ich kreise um Gott, um den urlaten Turm,
Und ich kreise jahrtausendelang;
Und ich weiss noch nicht: bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm
Oder ein grosser Gesang.
I am also circling around God, and will for a thousand more years, a falcon, a storm, and a great song.
I await the decision of the German government concerning the
status of my citizenship. I fear my blood may not be red enough.
The Holocaust continues as long as Germany sees red.
Family; we will award Adolf the Hitler no posthumous victory. We will gather together under our Tree, and speak here, and reunite. I will contact each of you individually to share our diaspora narratives and images.
My circles expand to Mother Theresa’s definition of family. Every person of this earth is a brother and sister. We live on one land.
If Germany does not want me I will survive. I live in the motherland which transcends nationalism and religion.
