Favourite Afrikaans poems

[cjm]

I love the poetry of NP van Wyk Louw (although perhaps sometimes a bit difficult to comprehend) and MM Walters (particularly his satire on South African society).

I particularly think that the following by Van Wyk Louw is one of the greatest poems about South Africa:

"O wye en droewe land

O wye en droewe land, alleen
onder die groot suidersterre.
Sal nooit 'n hoë blydskap kom
deur jou stil droefenis?
Jy ken die pyn en eensaam lye
van onbewuste enkelinge,
die verre sterwe op die veld,
die klein begrafnis;

eenvoudige mense wat getrou
en enkeld bitter dinge doen,
en enkeld val soos korrels saad;
stil daad, klein trou, klein trouloosheid
van dié wat om 'n ander diens soos knegte jou verlaat.

Sal nooit 'n magtige skoonheid kom
oor jou soos die haelwit somerwolk
wat uitbloei oor jou donker berge,
en nooit in jou 'n daad geskied
wat opklink oor die aarde en
die jare in hul onmag terge;

'n grootsheid van so 'n suiwer glans,
dat mense in 'n verre land
wat van jou naam die melding hoor,
met wilde en helder oog sal staar
soos vroeë vaarders in die nag
verslae gesien het kim bo kim
die nuwe, blom-groot sterre styg
op uit jou see se wit gevaar?"

Anyone prepared to attempt a translation into English - RA?

This poem was published in 1938 and one can only marvel at its current relevance. Whether the poet intended it as such I don't know - perhaps his despair flowed more from the results of the Boer war but note for example the reference to "wit gevaar" in the last line!

[cjm]

I hope this does not disturb Van Wyk Louw's eternal sleep but I could not resist the temptation

O wide and sad land

O wide and sad land, alone
under the huge southern stars.
Will a higher exaltation never flow
from your quiet sorrow?
You know the pain and lonely suffering
of ignorant individuals,
the remote death in the veld,
the little funeral;

simple people who faithfully
and singlehandedly perform bitter tasks,
and one by one fall like bits of seed;
quiet deed, small faithfulness, small faithlessness
of those who assume another service
deserting you like common labourers.

Will a mighty beauty never come
over you like the hail white summercloud
which bleeds over your dark mountains,
and never a deed be performed,
which sweeps loudly over the earth and
teases the years in their impotence;

of such pure shining magnitude,
that people in a far-off land
hearing mention of your name,
will stare with wild and bright eye
like ancient mariners in the night
amazed by horison above horison
seeing the new, huge flower stars ascend
up from your sea's white danger?

[Allan]

Hi CJM

I'd like to say that I'm a fan of Afrikaans poetry, but it would be a lie. I couldn't stand English poetry at school so its got nothing to do with language. Its probably as a result of some serious overkill by my english teachers..

If I were ever asked to discuss the "tone", "rythmn","poets intentions" (when the guys usually been dead for at least 300 years, but the teachers answer is the only right answer)or the affect of enjambment (spel ?) ever again, I think I'd crack.

I preferred maths or science when you knew you were either right or wrong. (No grey area).

Perhaps I should have another go, now that a bit of time has passed.

[cjm]

Many poems take one some time to fully appreciate (I find) - not that I have much time to indulge in reading poetry. I also like the ones that are like puzzles (you'd be surprised at the logic and thought sometimes hidden in the most superficially simple poem). So perhaps maths etc is not that far removed. It was also for example said by one of Van Wyk Louw's teachers, that he was one of the best students in maths ever encountered by that teacher.

I recently had another look at an Anthology of English poetry I had occasion to study some years ago (now I a revealing too much of myself!) and I find that the subject matter of many poems does not appeal to me. That is an advantage Afrikaans (and the other indigenous languages) have (I think) - they are so much more relevant to our lives here in South Africa. Not that there are no South African English poetry - but I am not aware of a great quantity - perhaps I am wrong.

I had the opportunity after school of being taught a basic course in Afrikaans poetry by MM Walters and he really opened my eyes - it was an unforgettable experience. His own work these days is perhaps dated (it was rooted very much in the issues of the time it was written).