New Zealand blogger and writer, Ineke, from I scrap 2 and blogger, Amanda, from Something to Ponder About in Australia are jointly hosting the A and I Poetry Challenge in English and in Afrikaans, in the WordPress community.
August Prompt: Write a Heart poem. This might be a poem with lines written in the shape of a heart, or a poem about love, getting to the heart of a problem, about folks wearing their hearts on their sleeves, or someone showing a lot of heart in competitions.
How on earth does one write a poem in the shape of a heart? This really baffled me until I found the answer on the website https://www.festisite.com listed by the challenge providers as a possible source of inspiration. Love this site. Using their software, I created this poem in Afrikaans (titled Eerste Liefde). The English version, loosely translated, is at the bottom.
It’s a little bit syrupy and silly, but come on, so is drawing little hearts in your workbooks in grade school!
EERSTE LIEFDE
The Afrikaans poem in an “easier to read” format:
So sal ek jou altyd onthou
Jou hare die kleur van sand
Jou oë soos die see so blou
Jou vingers wat styf om myne vou
Jy was my eerste liefde
Ek wonder of jy my nog onthou
Of jy soms nog ‘n glasie op my klink
Jy het gesê jy wil met my trou
Ek het gesê ek sal daaroor dink
Ek was jou eerste liefde
Die jare het aangestap
Ons het uitmekaar gedryf
Jy het diep spore in my hart getrap
Selfs al was jy net ses jaar oud en ek vyf
Dit was mooi, ons Eerste Liefde
FIRST LOVE
(translated from Afrikaans – a harrowing task, especially because I decided to stick to the rhyming scheme used in the Afrikaans version)
This is how I’ll always remember you
Your hair the color of sand
Your eyes like the sea so blue
Your fingers tightly holding my hand
You were my first love
I wonder if you remember me still
If you sometimes toast me with a drink
You said to marry me is your will
I said of that I would have to think
I was your first love
Those years passed by in a leap
We lived in our separate folds
You tracks are embedded in my heart so deep
Even if you were six and I five only years old
It was beautiful, our First Love
This was, once again great fun, Ineke and Amanda 😄
Like this:
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My blog posts, written in Afrikaans and English, represent the rantings and ravings, the joys and blessings of a 70-something retiree – Me.
kethuprofumo
!!!!!!!!!!! Super!
HesterLeyNel
Thank you Maria!
kethuprofumo
🙂
Bondelsgedagtes
Jinne jys oulik!!!
HesterLeyNel
Dit was ‘n oulike program.
travel460
Ag maar jy het hierdie nou so goed geskryf en gedoen!
HesterLeyNel
Dankie Una, dis nogal groot pret om deel te neem aan hierdie uitdaging – ek is nou nie juis ‘n kenner van digkuns nie.
perdebytjie
Pragtig, Hester! Ons weet mos nou al hoeka van jou romantiese sy…sedert Toweropstal se dae!
Abrie Joubert
Toweropstal – Die goeie ou dae 🙂
HesterLeyNel
Jip!
perdebytjie
Ek mis dit…ons het baie pret gehad met daardie storie!
HesterLeyNel
Uitgevang! 😄
Abrie Joubert
Ek het gou Engelse weergawe gelees. Nie so eenvoudig om die Afrikaanse weergawe te lees nie – amper my nek gebreek. Gedigte is gevaarlik!
HesterLeyNel
Kan jy nie onderstebo lees nie? Ek het dit aangeleer in die dae toe ek met die trein werk toe gery het en te arm was om my eie koerant te koop.
Abrie Joubert
🙂 maar die onderstebo verander heeltyd van rigting
HesterLeyNel
Nee!!! Regtig? Hoeveel Frangelico het jy gedrink? Dit loop net kloksgewys – draai jou skerm stadig in die rondte. Wees avontuurlik! Toemaar Abrie, ek kry jou jammer man – ek sal die Afrikaanse weergawe ook invoeg.
amandacl
Uitmuntend Hester!
HesterLeyNel
Ag dankie Amanda 😄
Kameel
Hester die hartjie kan ek nie lees nie… hy swem voor my oë… maar jou gedig is baie goed. Een van die dae dra ek met passie een van jou gedigte uit jou digbundel voor. 😊
HesterLeyNel
Nou hoekom het ek ‘n swemmende hartjie? My eie digbundel – whahaha, dit sal ‘n koue dag in die Karoo wees en jy sal vol wyn moet wees.
Kameel
Die swemmende hartjie is te danke aan my dronk kop waar alles mos lynreguit sonder enige kinkels en kabels moet wees, anders is ek van balans af. Daar het al groter wonderwerke as “Hester se Hartswoorde Digbundel,” gebeur. 😊
HesterLeyNel
Ek sal hoop vir ‘n wonderwerk vir jou dronk kop!
A. Shepherdson
Hester what a beautiful poem, we never forget the first ‘little’ person we fell in love with.
HesterLeyNel
No, that’s the one memory that one actually wants to hold onto. Thank Andrew.
Forestwood
Oh this is fantastic Hester! And so well done to keep the rhyme. It is a good writer who can leave the surprise reveal words until the final line or two! Very Well done!!
HesterLeyNel
Thank you Amanda, your praise means a lot to me.
Forestwood
As does your contributing to my challenge mean a lot to me! Xxx