“Ohne Heimat” (Without a Homeland)

Part of a series on Nietzsche, Unveiling the Depths of Human Existence

“Yesterday, during thoughts about my homeland, I wrote a little poem in which I mused how it might be for one who didn’t have a homeland”

The poem is symptomatic of the lyrical escape with which Nietzsche sought to transcend his dreary school routine. Entitled “Ohne Heimat”, it depicts a passionate self-emancipation from all restrictive boundaries:

Wild horses take
Me without fear and hesitation
Through the wide world.
And whoever sees me knows me,
And whoever knows me calls me
The homeless man.
Heidideldi!
Never forget me!
My happiness, you bright star!

No one may dare
To ask me
Where my homeland is.
I am really not bound
To space and fleeting hours
I am just as free as the Aar!
Heidideldi!
Never forsake me!
My happiness, you lovely May!
That I eventually must perish,

Must kiss bitter death-
That I scarcely believe.
Must I sink into the grave
And never again drink
The fragrant froth of life?
Heidideldi!
N ever forsake me
My happiness, you colorful dream!

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