Understanding Words

The native women's voices sing
lush...throaty words
I do not understand
within music which moves
and sways my being...
I long to comprehend
the ideas spoken...make sense
of the meanings imagined...
wish my mind could instantly
translate the unknown language
to let me know...what they speak of...

One time...several years ago...I obtained a long awaited copy of the martial arts movie "Hero"...a film with...among other things...beautiful visuals. Not being familiar with the dvd machine I was watching it on...and not being able to read the dvd's Chinese "menu"...I didn't know how to turn on the English subtitles but wanted to see the movie so badly that I watched the entire movie in its original Mandarin version...and struggled to comprehend....the storyline. The intense visuals...and incredible sword play scenes...were captivating enough to keep me fascinated... however... anyone who has seen this movie can understand and imagine how...confusing...it was...to not have the language factor to rely on... The movie...which focuses on the man who became the first emperor of China and his relationship with 4 opponents...who influenced him greatly...retells the same story line in three different versions. The scenes are played over and over again but with some variations...including a striking use of differing color...making the spoken telling of it crucial to the visuals on the screen. In many ways...almost ironically to my situation at the time...the movie also deals with the subject of words... language... and its importance in helping people to better understand others...
Lately, mostly due to having received a cd of native american music...sung in beautiful sounding native languages...I started thinking again about how neat it would be to understand all the languages of this Earth...so many stories...so much information which could enrich our lives...and our viewpoints.
But...........right now..........I'd be happy just to be able to know what those women are singing with their rich gutteral words...filled with so much emotion....