from: About.com: Poetryx
In the Spotlight: Poems translated from around
the world, this from Africa, the source of Eritrean
poet Reesom Haile. Translated into English by
Prof. Charles Cantalupo.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxOUR LANGUAGE
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Welcome
To our language.
Taste
the sauce
With spicy melted
Butter.
Berbere pepper
And sea salt.
The bones are big
Not only for flavor.
Take them
Like communion.
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by Reesom Haile
8 comments:
Hello Lyn,
You can almost taste the language! I always feel that when an African speaks English, the words sound so carefully chosen.
What a wonderful little poem. I had to read it three times. Outloud. Love it!! Especially the last line. Language is truly digested, isn't it? I gobbled this one up.
Hi Derrick-
Thank you..I think the brevity of the poem is so powerful!
Willow-
Brilliant insight.... Communication has to be ingested!!
Delicious Poetry! Did you ever experience a language that you thought might taste bad?
Sometimes, when I speak Japanese my tongue gets very sore, but feminine part of the language is like beautifully decorated petite sweets.
very visual poem - translations can be tricky, don't you think? - everytime i've read a french book translated into English, I've been disappointed - either it was a bad book to begin with, or the translation just didn't do it justice - of course I never know for sure - alas....
Hi Butternut-
Hmm....I think demeaning language tastes bad..
Your description of speaking Japanese is poetry!!
Hi Jeane-
Ah, to be multi-lingual, then we would never feel cheated!
Visual, yes, thank you.
I was thinking of the clicking noises that some of the African tribes make. What a great evocative piece! Where do you find them?
Kat
Kat-
Is it the Ibo tribe that does the clicks?
I get emails from poetry.com and sometimes actually read them!!
Thanks..
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