WINTERNAG
O koud is die
windjie
en
skraal.
En blink in die
dof-lig
en
kaal,
so wyd as die Heer
se genade,
lê die velde in
sterlig en skade.
En
hoog in die rande,
versprei
in die brande,
is die grassaad
aan roere
soos
winkende hande.
O treurig die wysie
op
die ooswind se maat,
soos die lied van
’n meisie
in haar liefde
verlaat.
In elk grashalm se
vou
blink ’n druppel
van dou,
en vinnig verbleik
dit
tot
ryp in die kou!
WINTER NIGHT
So cold now the
wind is
and
spare.
And bleak in the
dim light
and
bare,
as wide as God’s
mercy is boundless,
the scorched veldt
lies starlit and soundless.
And
on the high lands
through
burnt soil lone strands
of seed-grass are
stirring
like
beckoning hands.
So sad now the
song is
on
the east wind full-borne,
like a girl’s song
of longing
when love is
forlorn.
In the fold of
each blade
a clear dewdrop is
made
that swiftly the
cold turns
to
rime as it fades!
Hi John
ReplyDeleteThe highveld burns each winter and there is miles of black crisp grass which each year renews itself.
Any moisture immediatly starts the process and i can almost see the movement of the sprouting grass.
Alastair Barnes sent me this comment from South Africa. He also encouraged me to make a revised version of my translation. Thank you, Alastair!
No, I hadn't. Thank you very much for drawing my attention to it!
ReplyDeletehttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.culture.south-africa.afrikaans/9bCPJd4p0N0
For the actual poem, go to:
ReplyDeletehttp://johnirons.blogspot.dk/2012/10/marais-winternag-new-english-version.html
interesting to compare translations! i went very much for the pulse, the flow of the line. i find the rhymes a bit odd in his first stanza, the endings 'God' and 'shade' jerk me to a halt compared to marais.