Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MOTHER TONGUE, by MAXIMILIAN GOTTFRIED SCHENKENDORF


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MOTHER TONGUE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Mother tongue, oh, tongue most dear
Last Line: Then my mother tongue I speak.
Subject(s): German Language; Nationalism - Germany


MOTHER tongue, oh, tongue most dear,
Sweet and gladsome to mine ear!
Word that first I heard, endearing
Word of love, first timid sound
That I stammered—still I'm hearing
Thee within my soul profound.

Oh, my heart will ever grieve
When my Fatherland I leave,
For in foreign tongues repeating
Words of strangers, I lose cheer.
Oh, they seem not like a greeting,
And I'll never hold them dear.

Speech so wonderful to hear—
How thou ringest pure and clear!
Though thy beauty hath enthralled me,
Still I'll deepen my delight,
Awed, as if my fathers called me
From the grave's eternal night.

Ring on ever, tongue of old,
Tongue of lovers, heroes bold!
Rise, old song, though lost for ages,
From thy secret tomb, and go
Live again in sacred pages,
Set all hearts once more aglow.

Breath of God is everywhere,
Custom sacred here as there.
Yet when I give thanks, am praying,
A beloved heart would seek,
When my highest thoughts I'm saying—
Then my mother tongue I speak.





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