Mensch
'Mensch' is a German-Yiddish word
Meaning a person of integrity and honour.
The opposite of a "mensch" is an "unmensch"
Meaning an utterly unlikeable or unfriendly person.
There is nothing in between, no semantic shades of grey.
Maybe the divine gift, which we Germans have been known to spurn,
Is to say nobody is mensch or unmensch
Or, my preference, everyone is mensch and unmensch..
If I say 'she is noble', 'she alone has all the virtues'
Even as I speak I know this is romantic blindness
Devils or or angels are equally out of reach
For most. תודה לאל. Thank G-d.
Possibly the reason why throughout a long life
Goethe eschewed the label 'romantic' insisting upon his classical credentials
Was that romanticism robs the ordinary of its inherent extraordinariness.
Some say human mothers can distinguish their human babies by smell alone
Of all these tiny beings only this one dressed in green is mine
The 'special one' reigns supreme in the wards of uniformity
Predictably this is not an evolutionary trait that I approve of.....
Because it leads to....
Hail the unknown higher being!
Gegrüßt den glorreichen Führer!
Hail to the supermensch!
Now the kind old sun shines on everyone
Everyone is wet in rain
We are all dishevelled in windy stormy weather
We think we make decisions, perceive chains of cause and effect
Do stupid things when drunk
Nature threatens us. We cannot control nature. Even as we mend her, we end her.
The sun shines on the good and bad
And next week it will burn them.
Criminals exist in our mirrors
And also in our windows
Maybe it was easier to join the Nazi party
After the tribulations of hyper-inflation
People's life savings wiped out in a day
Mass unemployment, famine
And being a camp guard....somebody has to do it
The moon and the stars and the tides and currents continue the same
And the pay is regular in thunder or in hail or when the packed transports from Warsaw are a deep freeze.
Hurrying past one another. Excuse me. Excuse me. I have a job to do!
John Marks
Thu 3rd Jan 2019 21:54
My pleasure Kate. I hope that 2019 is kind to you and to those that you love. As usual, my kindest of regards to the kindest of critics, Jacob. I wish you all that you wish yourself for 2019. John