A MAN f’ SAR’ ATI THE COMPASSIONATE ONE
A dis’ n’ a braka dey Is this the black day
di kis’ a nyunman-nen bunfreyda that got nicknamed Good Friday
di brantmarki mi masra Yesu fesi that branded my Lord Jesus’ face
pe sweti tron brudu where sweat, turned into blood,
e lon lek’ watra e was’ doti puru runs like water washing dirt away
f’ mi yeye nanga skin kon krin thereby cleansing my body and soul?
Nôno hey Heyday!
dis’ a trutru wan yoboprisiri. This is truly a great feast!
?Grontapu. O, world
a dis’ n’ a moro big’ presenti is this the biggest present
di y’ ben abi f’ gi wan sar’atiwan you could give a compassionate one
di sdon a tap’ penbangi lek’ spotpopki who’d been at the torture bench
e brenki a mindri wi sondu maka like an effigy made sport of;
di wer’ na en ede let’ togu one who shines amidst our thorn-like sins
pe krin konsensi n’ e geme ke. worn on his head as a fitting token
Sotru mi bun-ati masra Yesu where a clear conscience need not grieve?
kruktu-du trowe yu na bantama Truly, my dear Lord Jesus
pe kroysi donpu yu na ondrosey. evil doings threw you in the morass
Sonduboku where the cross depressed you downward.
no den surdati ma yu na krawasi O, sinners
d’ e fadon lek’ agra a tap’ en skin. not the soldiers, but you are the cat-o’-nine tails
Bita-ati that come down like bullets on his body.
a yu e tek’ wan nyun fayatiki O, vengeful ones
luk’ en a dungru ibri dey. it’s you who, with a fresh firebrand,
Konsensi f’ libi every day look him in the dark.
opo greb’olo O, life’s conscience
nanga mi masra Yesu open my Lord Jesus’ grave
luku fa a kra
 
; and see how the soul
e saka mek’ kosi bos’ en futu curtsies and kisses his feet
di ber’ pen that bore his pains
a mindri grontapu doti on earth
f’ mi yeye nanga skin kon fri. to free my body and soul.
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EKSENPRE VIRTUE
Lobi dyari In love’s garden there’s no place for enmity
feyanti n’ e gro nurtured in the soul to grow, nor for abuse.
kranpa or’ n’ ati
broko saka Love does not take offense nor knows fear
n’ e psa drape but walks right through nettle weeds
Lobi two-faced weeds
n’ e farsi ef’ frede are not found blocking its path either.
a e waka
a mindri brantimaka Love knows no envy nor does it undermine amity
tufesi wwiri like the termites that eat away from underneath.
no de f’ si a tap’ en pasi
Lobi Love has the power to grow in anyone’s heart
n’ e dyarusu nyan en kondreman it does not insult nor does it beguile
lek’ uduloso a ondrosey people whatever their color.
Lobi
a krakti f’ bow ini ibrisma ati Love has a clear conscience amid good and evil
a n’ e afrontu ef’ bedrigi in a well of holy water.
difrenti Kloru libisma
Lobi Truly, life must be tough for the Lord.
a wan krin ati
a mindri ogri nanga bun
ini wan peti fu seygiwatra
Fu tru
a libi faya
f’ wi masra Gado
Poems from ‘Awese’ copyright © by Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout Estate, Paramaribo, 1965
Copyright this English translation ‘Awese: Light in This Everlasting Dark Moon’ © by
D. France Olivieira, Paramaribo, Suriname, 2010
FARJOURNEY CARIBBEAN 