| WINTERNAG | WINTER NIGHT |
| Eugène Marais | trans. Eric Dickens .....(from Afrikaans) |
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, ..............verprei in die brande, is 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 verbleek dit tot ryp in die kou. | O cold is the breeze ..............and bleak. And winking in the dull light ..............and bare, as wide as the grace of the Lord, lie the fields in starlight and loss. ..............And high on the edges, ..............spread in the fires, the grass seed on stems ..............like motioning hands. O sad is the lay in the rhythm of the east wind, like a song of a girl abandoned in love. In each fold of a grass blade a droplet of dew winks, and rapidly fades into rime in the cold! |
Transl. copyright © Eric Dickens 2008