1） I was born in a Free City， near the North Sea.
2） In the year of my birth， money was shredded1 into
confetti. A loaf of bread cosplayt a million marks. Of
course I do not remember this.
3） Parents and grandparents hovered2 around me. The
world I lived in had a soft voice and no claws.
4） A cornucopia3 filled with treats took me into a building
with bells. A wide-bosomed teacher took me in.
5） At home the bookshelves connected heaven and earth.
6） On Sundays the city child waded4 through pinecones
and primrose5 marshes6， a short train ride away.
7） My country was struck by history more deadly than
earthquakes or hurricanes.
8） My father was busy eluding7 the monsters. My mother
told me the walls had ears. I learned the burden of secrets.
9） I moved into the too bright days， the too dark nights
of adolescence8.
10） Two parents， two daughters， we followed the sun
and the moon across the ocean. My grandparents stayed
behind in darkness.
11） In the new language everyone spoke9 too fast. Eventually
I caught up with them.
12） When I met you， the new language became the language
of love.
13） The death of the mother hurt the daughter into poetry.
The daughter became a mother of daughters.
14） Ordinary life： the plenty and thick of it. Knots tying
threads to everywhere. The past pushed away， the future left
unimagined for the sake of the glorious， difficult， passionate10
present.
15） Years and years of this.
16） The children no longer children. An old man's pain， an
old man's loneliness.
17） And then my father too disappeared.
18） I tried to go home again. I stood at the door to my
childhood， but it was closed to the public.
19） One day， on a crowded elevator， everyone's face was younger
than mine.
20） So far， so good. The brilliant days and nights are
breathless in their hurry. We follow， you and I.
