Die dag het nou net begin.
Ons het al baie werk gedoen.
My pa maak koffie.
Hy maak die beste moerkoffie.
Ek weet nie hoekom nie,
maar sy koffie smaak.
Ons sit buite op die stoep.
Hierdie huis het my oupagrootjie gebou.
Ons drink ons koffie uit blikbekers,
met baie suiker
en melk van ons eie plaas,
vars en nou net gemelk.
Ons roer ons koffie.
Die klank klink,
teelepels teen bekerkante.
Die windpomp pyp
beweeg stadig
op en af, op en af, op en af, …
Die dammetjie het darem water.
Die droogte is dank God verby.
Die grond het bo die grond gesit.
Nou groei die gras
soos ‘n kombers op die aarde.
Ouma bring vir ons mossbolletjie beskuit
met anys.
Dit is vars, dit is soet en sag.
Dis lekker.
Kopiereg © Quirina Roode-Gutzmer 2012. Alle regte voorbehou.
Quirina, I have read this with pleasure. The atmosphere, the ability to understand your words through my Dutchness
Beautiful. May the feeling linger…
Thank you, Marion. I appreciate this very much and am glad that you can experience a sense of the Afrikaner people.
I suppose this is South African Dutch?! Anyways, I wouldn’t mind a translation … : )
Yes, it is called Afrikaans. It was a language that started in the kitchen of the Dutch people in the Cape, where the Malay slaves cooked delicious food. The Dutch children would spend a lot of time with the Malay women in the kitchen and this is where the language Afrikaans was born.
From the little I can understand it is a close and intimate study – coffee with dad on a step at the end of the day, beautiful imagery.
I don’t think I would like a translation (even if it is possible) because read out loud even in an interpretation of pronunciation, brings a different magic.
Thank you,
RR
I am very touched, RR, that you made the effort to understand something in another language and visit another culture.
very cool…first thought it was dutch – africaans and dutch are quite similar…could understand a bit
Thank you, Claudia. All Germanic languages: Dutch, Afrikaans, English and German.
Ek smaak hierdie poem maar nie die koffie met baie suiker nie!
Will you ever post your translation of this?, not knowing the lingo I translated it a few times online to get the gist of it, but would like to see your own version if it ever transpires
Like some of the others, I was able to enjoy this poem through the similarity of the Afrikaans to Dutch and German (and English too). Love the rhythm, the sounds, tastes and scents, the way your poem feeds all my senses despite being written in a language I don’t speak. I can see why people would like you to translate it, but I do like it the way it is.