A while ago I wrote about The beauty of Two, the feature of my language that allows me to express the intimacy of being a part of pair. It seems only appropriate that today I honour another beauty, the beauty of Her.
Sail with me is one of the poems that were written years ago. Decades ago, actually. You could never guess that both me and the beloved are – Woman. With no pronouns, no names, if you read it in my language, you see it in the nouns. Beloved in English could be him or her, ljuba is her. The one that poured into her could be him or her, prelila could only be done by female. How beautiful, inspiring it is to be able to express it!
How powerful it is that I can express myself as female! Reading my poems in English most of the time the author could be him or her. In my language my gender shows in verbs or pronouns I use (to be completely truthful, not in all cases, and explaining when and how is something I could never do satisfactory, since I am no linguist). I miss that in English. I cherish it in my language. Not to compare the two languages in a competition, not to think English is any less. But being used to know Her in words, and knowing I can be Her… How could I not think my words lack something when translated and the gender is suddenly lost?
It is beautiful that I can say midva and it is clear that I’m talking about you and me, the Two of us. And it is beautiful that if I say midve, the Two of us is not two men or a man and a woman. It is two Women. Another jewel of my language. The beauty of Her.
Alenka H., 2022
There is something special I want to share today. A special thanks to two persons. One is Her, my mother. The other is my Whale. I thank them both for making me feel cherished and loved.