words come to my mind
faster in Spanish
than in English. Why
just this evening
búho flew faster
into my mind
than owl did. Something
suggested in the wing beats,
felt more like búho
than owl
to me. The remembrance
of a word I hadn’t used
too terribly often,
too terribly often,
even in childhood,
made we wonder
what else
is flitting about my subconscious,
waiting for me to discover it.
 |
| Owl Queen by Don Martin. You can find more of his whimsical work on Etsy and Red Bubble. Don is a poet as well as an artist and you can find his latest poetry collection on Amazon. |
English-language is universal, but our own native language is much closer to our hearts.
ReplyDeleteI grew up bilingual, thanks to my aunt
DeleteThis is beautiful ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks Ladan!
Delete"Buho,".. as in owl!😃 It has such a lovely lilt and cadence to it!💘 This is beautifully done, Rommy! Thank you so much for writing to the prompt!😍😍
ReplyDeleteThanks Sanaa!
DeleteThat's how bilingual brains work, I guess! Love the owl art too!
ReplyDeleteMr. Martin does create fun art
DeleteYour poetry put a huge smile on my face ... wish I was bilingual.
ReplyDeleteI've found playing with apps can help with learning another language. My Japanese is getting better thanks to DuoLingo
DeleteI feel the same about French, even though my first language is English.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very pretty language. I really don't know too many words in it that don't involve food though. :D
DeleteSacred wisdom emerging.
ReplyDeleteThanks Holly
DeleteIt is amazing what memories from childhood still lurk in ones brain after so many years.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed
DeleteFascinating thing, the human mind! And what a master of enjambment you are: such ease and flow, such unobtrusiveness.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rosemary. It does take a little work for me to get it to flow the way I want to.
DeleteI was here before, and liked that little El Buho so much I linked on to see it and more like it. So I completely forgot to leave a footprint. Or a typeprint. ;) So I am back and I do wonder what is in your subconscious that you might share next time.
ReplyDeleteAw! Thank you for coming back. :)
DeleteLove poems that feature two languages and this one is especially beautiful...
ReplyDeleteThanks Thotpurge!
DeleteDon't you just love it when a distant memory pokes you in the brain o inspire your future :D XXX
ReplyDeleteIt feels like finding a helpful post-it note to yourself :)
DeleteWhen I first returned from Germany after eight years, there were some words I could only remember in German and sometimes spoke to my bemused mother in full sentences of Kölsch dialect. Forty years later, I miss that.
ReplyDeleteAs a linguist, I enjoyed finding out about words and meanings of other languages, and still do. I think ‘búho’ suits the bird better than owl. It’s onomatopoeic and just pops out of the mouth so beautifully. I love the lines:
‘ …Something
suggested in the wing beats,
felt more like búho
than owl…’
I would have liked to have studied Spanish, but was hooked on mainly German languages, although we did dip into others.
The Germans have some fun words! Kummerspeck/ grief bacon comes to mind.
DeleteI'd say everything you've ever thought or experienced. Enjoyed that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anthony!
DeleteI especially loved "Something suggested in the wing beats.." Very recognisable I prefer some words in Dutch as they sometimes feel more real. Then there are the words you can't really translate and are an important concept in your life like the word 'gezellig' meaning something like cosy but not quite
ReplyDeleteIt's need sometimes to do a deep dive on where the words come from. I always get a kick when a friend of mine who is way more literate in Spanish than I am breaks down word origins.
DeleteMuy Bueno indeed
ReplyDeleteGracias
DeleteVery nice Rommy an owl is still an owl. Happy Sunday
ReplyDeleteMuch💛🌺💛love
Hoot! Hoot!
DeleteI love words brought with birds that fly into your subconscious. The birds of my childhood of hold a special place even though they were mostly sparrows.
ReplyDeleteSparrows have quite a bit of personality from what I've observed wandering around my neighborhood.
DeleteReally enjoyed this, Rommy. Sometimes you just have a better name.
ReplyDeleteTrue indeed.
DeleteIn one way, it seems that búho fits as a proper name to me. I can only understand bits of several languages, including sign. I'm fluent in none, including English. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteLOL, I have mornings I feel like that too, before tea :D
DeleteI think our dreams sometimes give us a glimpse of the things that are floating about in our subconscious....and it's often quite a revelation to know what's in there! Loved the art and the poem!
ReplyDeleteOh yes. I've thought about my dreams, especially the recurring ones quite a bit.
DeleteA lovely "glimpse" at your subconcious. I wonder (with you), what else is flitting about waiting to be discovered!
ReplyDeleteIt is a busy place, my subconscious. :D
DeleteI do like your owl art, and I enjoyed reading your words.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
The art is Mr. Martin's. He does such a nice job with whimsical animal pictures.
DeleteThank you so much for the kind words and for stopping by, Jan!
DeleteDon't you just love it when language sings of fun?
ReplyDeleteI do!
DeleteI love your words and I love the owl! Big Hugs!
ReplyDelete