I’m beginning to win the rhyming contest with
Tiaan, he insists on reciting a limerick ‘There*
once was a guy named Joe, he was a very
friendly ou’ - at first I fought back by adding
nonsensical lines ‘His blood was blou
He was very unhappy in the kou’ – yet it did not
deter my son, an inveterate poetaster; but today
I retorted ‘With dainty step Mabalêl tripped along,
the tinkling of her ankle rings accompanying a
happy little song*’ - and I conquered
Tiaan was subdued, after launching a brief counter-
attack ‘There once was a guy named Mabalêl...’ and
‘With dainty step Joe tripped along’ he stopped in his
tracks - even his friends complained about this verse
now I have finally found a magic chant
That silences him - victory over the nerve-wrecking
insistence of a fourteen-year old boy is an
amazingly sweet experience....
*Original Afrikaans:
"Daar was eenkeer ‘n ou genaamd Joe,
hy was ‘n baie vriendelike ou..."
ou = guy, blou = blue, kou = cold
*Original Afrikaans
"Vinnig langs die paadjie trippel Mabalêl
vrolik klink die liedjie wat die klingelinge
van haar enkelringe vergesel"
*
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