Firstly, I
wake up, then I drink coffee.
Firstly, I
exercise, then I shower.
Firstly, I
think in English, then I study German.
Firstly, my
grandfather spoke German, then he never spoke it again.
Firstly, I
Saw my grandfather stretch, then learned stretching
is very German.
Firstly, I
learned to say “must” in German,
then I learned to say what I “must do” and what I “must not do.”
I must get up.
I must wash.
“I must
stand still, hours, in the cold.”
My uncle wrote
this in English.
He must have
been trying to translate the experience
of being
forced into a new routine.
I must say I am showering myself,
putting on my
clothes, combing my own hair.
So, too, with
verbs we learned last week:
to poison,
to injure,
to burn.
Students of language,
students of history,
we learn reflexives,
verbs to know
how to say
we do things
to ourselves and to others.
