In My Tongue

In my Tongue.

In my tongue-instruct me-

in my tongue educate me- 
in my tongue train me,
of wisdom 
in my tongue-please groom me.

 

In my tongue-let Communication-hold,

in my tongue let religious
teachings be performed,
in my tongue-let God be
explained to me-
in my tongue-let life be
expounded.

In my tongue-let commerce 
be conducted-
in my tongue-let business be
run-
in my language-let services-
be provided,
let my books be in 
mother’s tongue.

Let my teachers instruct
me in tongue I know,

force no foreign tongue
on me,
compel me not to learn
someone’s tongue to 
understand his culture.

 

Culture from elsewhere
let my tongue elucidate,
ideas from somewhere,
let my tongue explicate,
teachings from far-flung,
let my tongue clarify,
learning from someplace
let my tongue illuminate.

Teach me no foreign tongues,
preach to me not in foreign tongue,
give me no foreign books to read,
make my tongue-a living tongue.