I remember reciting a poem. It was in front of the whole class during my junior year in high school. I was in Germany taking the equivalent of a literature class. Heinrich Heine was the poet. A master. Deft at stringing beautiful words of romanticism. And I had to recite the poem from memory. No notes, no cue cards. Nuthin. Unlike any other poet, save for Homer, Heine truly captures the beauty and glory of one’s return home.
This weekend I found myself rereading “Deutschland, Ein Wintermärchen” as I returned to Europe. Now, as then, I read words I cannot comprehend. They are obtuse, blurry, unrecognizable. Perhaps my German isn’t what it used to be. Yet I read on. I grasp at meaning like an infant on its back reaches for the stars above the crib.
There are times in life when you are given all the answers. But most of the time, we are only given pieces of a larger puzzle. Meaning lies in the obscure. It lies in the subtle, shaded crevices of understanding. Given the immediacy of knowledge in today’s modern age, a quick Google search could have made translation seamless. The use of context and the strain toward the unknown provide a better solution. Though facts might gain us knowledge, wisdom and truth come from the way we interpret the world.
In his poem, Heine paints a romantic picture of his journey home. He describes the grey November skies, the bitter cold, the icy wind that freezes to the bone. He remembers what it is like, finally, to sleep in a warm featherbed. The comfortable memories that we have of coming home haunt us when we are away. We strive to get away but miss home the instant we leave.
If I had to rehearse a poetic line now, it would evoke a scene that awaits in three days time: turning the bend and descending into the Española Valley, that moment when the entire city and beyond becomes visible. You can see the river bending left then right toward the north. You see the mesa, you see your valley, and you see your home.
If I had to memorize one poem today, it would describe the colors that artists love to express – the blues, the browns and every shade in between. There is never a true and clear picture about what northern New Mexico is. The truth of our valley lies not in the black and white lines of history, much less in the cartographical lines of longitude and latitude. It lies in the nuance and subtlety of the obscure.
The truth about our community is … it’s complicated. We want to be completely self-reliant, yet we rely totally on each other. We say our unique qualities set us apart from the rest, yet we are a combination of cultures and traditions experienced by many others across the world.
We say we are proud, yet we are genuinely stubborn. As shy as many of our loved ones have proven to be, they have demonstrated excessive abundance and generosity to others. There is no one-size-fits-all panacea to governing that can perfectly represent the economic and cultural diversity that defines us today. It is not easy to make good decisions that ought to be improving the lives of all our citizens.
The Española City Council’s decision to increase the cost of water, wastewater treatment and trash collection to the tune of nearly $200 a year was certainly expected and likely necessary. The price of everything has gone up and government is no exception. But let us put that aside and discuss more lofty thoughts.
Thoughts such as truth and governance. Sometimes the math adds up to reveal just who your politicians are. Sometimes sizing up the truth means gleaning people’s intentions and capabilities from particular behaviors. Are the people who govern truly capable? Does it matter, you might ask? We all pay taxes and live our lives; what happens at City Hall doesn’t really affect us. Though that may be the case, a more relevant question remains: What will these politicians do with our valley? What will we call home? Will it be the place that Heinrich Heine inspired us to envision when we wax poetic saying, “This is my home.”
When you search for truth, when you ask what is real, does the Española Valley come to mind? I certainly hope it does. Though truth is extracted from our experiences between things, between good and evil, between the known and the unknown, truth must be polished and shined into clarity.
Many of you may ask why truth is so important. It’s simple. Truth is all we have.
Javier Sanchez is an investor in El Rito Media and a former Española mayor.