korreltjie sand
Korreltjie korreltjie sand
klippie gerol in my hand
klippie gesteek in my sak
word korreltjie klein en plat
Sonnetjie groot in die blou
ek maak net 'n ogie van jou
blink in my korreltjie klippie
dit is genoeg vir die rukkie
Kindjie wat skreeu uit die skoot
niks in die wêreld is groot
stilletjies lag nou en praat
stilte in Doodloopstraat
Wêreldjie rond en aardblou
korreltjie maak ek van jou
huisie met deur en twee skrefies
tuintjie met blou madeliefies
Pyltjie geveer in verskiet
liefde verklein in die niet
Timmerman bou aan 'n kis
Ek maak my gereed vir die Niks
Korreltjie klein is my woord
korreltjie niks is my dood
Or in the English translation by Antjie Krog and André Brink:
Little grain of sand
Grain little grain of sand
pebble rolled in my hand
pebble thrust in my pocket
a keepsake for a locket
Little sun big in the blue
a granule I make out of you
shine in my pebble little grain
for the moment that's all I can gain
Baby that screams from the womb
nothing is big in this tomb
quietly laugh now and speak
silence in dead-end street
Little world round and earth-blue
make a mere eye out of you
house with a door and two slits
a garden where everything fits
Small arrow feathered into space
love fades away from its place
Carpenter seals a coffin that's bought
I ready myself for the nought
Small grain of sand is my word, my breath
small grain of nought is my death
One of Jonker's most famous poems, the repeated diminutives in Afrikaans ('korreltjie', 'kindjie', 'wêreldjie', etc.) make it hard to render in English. They give the poem its distinct quality of a lullaby for grownups, starting out as a soothing childhood memory which gradually transforms into a meditation on death.
The English tries to keep the rhyme, which is always a translator's dilemma but in this case gives some forced results. For instance, while the original turns on the 'dead-end street' ('Doodloopstraat', which for some reason loses its capitalization in the translation), the English announces the theme earlier, and a bit bluntly, by substituting 'tomb' for 'world' ('wêreld'). The simple statement of 'Carpenter works on a coffin' ('Timmerman bou aan 'n kis') is also unnecessarily embellished.
Still, the poem loses none of its power in juxtaposing the vulnerable little things of this world with the looming presence of 'the nought' ('die Niks'). It reminds of Virginia Woolf's work, especially 'To the Lighthouse', which also envelops human activity in nothingness.
More poems by Jonker, haunted by children, dolls and death, are online in Afrikaans and English translations.
Jonker's tragic life is also inspiring a growing number of films. A 2001 Dutch documentary, 'Korreltjie niks is my dood', is available online. Another, South-African documentary is 'Ingrid Jonker: Her Lives and Time'. Meanwhile, a Dutch feature film about her is in development, called 'Smoke and Ochre' 'Black Butterflies'.
Marthe , 08-01-’10 12:03