Friday, April 30, 2010

A Poem for Katherine.

Katherine, my dear sister (in-law) has sent me 12 months worth of letters. One letter a month, to be opened and enjoyed. I decided to wait until today to open up April's letter, and with this darling letter, came a challenge:

"If you can, write a poem in Spanish today, and post it on your blog!"

So, I did just that. It is a pretty bad poem, using very basic language, and isn't profound or great. But, it's in Spanish. And I wrote it all by myself. And when Ana checked it, she only corrected my feminine and masculine articles. She said it made sense, but that was a bad poem. (Haha!) But I don't care... Because it's in Spanish!

respiro
lentemente y miro.
yo miro a los arboles,
las ojas verdes creciendo.

los flores abriendo.
yo miro a primavera.
cuando llegé,

hacia frio -

era gris.

no hubo ojas,
ni flores.
era invierno.
los estaciones han cambiado,

y con ésta,
vida

ha cambiado.

yo era asustada, ahora

soy emocionada.

yo era
timida, y
ahora soy
confianza.

primavera ha llegado.
pronto la estacion cambiará
a

verano,

y despues a otoño e
invierno.
sólo

cuatro estaciones puedo

experimentar.


quiero ver

los arboles crecer, y
los flores abrir.
quiero sentir
el calor y nadar
en
el mar cristal azul.

quiero
ver las ojas
cambiar
de verde a
marrón
a naranja
y a armarillo.

quiero tener
frio y sentir la nieve
en mi piel un otro vez.

muchas cosas a ver,

tan

poco

tiempo.

estoy dispuesta a
luchar.

a luchar por ésta

experiencia.

asi me pongo de pie.

tomo una
respirar
profunda y

sonrió.

voy a experimentar

todo.

y cuando yo vuela a
australia,
tendré
una maleta llena de cosas,
y un corazón lleno de memorias.





English:

i breathe
slowly and look.
i look at the trees,
the green leaves covering the
branches,

the flowers blooming.

i look at Spring.
when i arrived,
it was cold -
it was grey.
there weren't leaves on the
trees,
nor flowers blooming.

it was winter.
the seasons have changed,
and with this,
life
has changed.

i was scared, now
i am excited.
i was
shy, and now
i am
confident.


spring has arrived.
but soon,
the seasons will change to
summer,
and then to autumn and
winter.
only
four seasons i can
experience.

i want to see

the trees grow, and
the flowers
bloom.

i want to feel
the heat and swim
in the crystal blue sea.

i want
to see the leaves change
from green,
to brown,
to orange
and to yellow.
i want to feel
cold
and feel the snow
on my skin one more time.
so many things to see,
so
little
time.

i am willing to
fight.

to fight for this
experience.
so i stand up.
i take a deep breath and
smile.
i am going to experience
everything.
and when i return to australia,
i will have
a suitcase full of things
and a heart full of memories.

Hope you enjoyed my first (but hopefully not last!) Spanish poem! This one was for you Katherine, as you were the one who told me to do it... and I really enjoyed it. Hopefully next time my vocabulary will grow, and it will be better. Who'd have thought about writing poetry in another language?

As you all probably know, I love getting letters. There is something so personal and touching about a handwritten note, knowing that it has traveled from one side of the world to the other. Today, I got a package from Aunty Cath, Uncle Bruce, Sarah, Scott and Sean for my birthday.. Can't wait to open it! I also got a letter from Min. I love getting mail, and I feel as if I'm connected to the person when I read what they have to say. Min, I forgot the word for the detective thing laughed out loud, when I realised I couldn't think of what it was called. Ana looked over at me, and asked, "What are you laughing about?" And I replied without thinking, "Min and I are just having a moment. We can't figure out what this thing is called." She looked at me a little funnily before looking at the drawing and telling me that it was a magnifying glass. I loved getting the mail. It made my day! So thank you to everyone who has sent me a letter during the time I have been here. It has always been greatly appreciated and has always put a smile on my face. I appreciate them more than you can imagine. I have a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about them.

I am going to start updating this blog in shorter, but more frequent updates. I find that the blogs get so exhausting to do, and are so long, when I try and fit a whole weeks (or more) into one blog. This weekend I will tell you about the last couple of weeks... :)

P.S. No one let me know if the black is bothering you or not... so please do! Use the comment box below. :)

4 comments:

  1. Hi Laura, Aunty Sandy here, am so loving your blogs, you write wonderfully and I find myself experiencing it all through you, so keep them coming. The black isn't bothering me, in fact I find it quite immaginative and different, feels right for Spain somehow, for bull fighters and flamencos etc. I have your Mum here at present, she has been filling me in on some of your frustrations, but you are a strong person with great spirit and faith, so when you return you will feel a special sense of achievement having absorbed these frustrations while still having the ability to enjoy your time in Spain, such a great experience. And remember, tomorrow is another day with more wonderful things in it, and it is these which will remain with you forever to cherish. Happy Birthday, know you are a special person much loved back here, and keep enjoying! and Black is good!

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  2. black is fine with me! xo

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  3. Hi Laura. Aunty Lois here. I have Optic Neuritis (ON)& get pain in my eyes & permanently have double vision. The black hurts my eyes to read & the words seem to blur more with the white text on the black background.

    I am enjoying reading your posts, but admit because of the ON & the black background I can only read a little bit. I hope this isn't a pain in the neck for you, as I know the presentation of a blog is very personal.

    I loved your poem & didn't think it was bad at all...just expressive of your thoughts!! :)

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  4. Hi Missy Mou,

    If you are going to have a white background I would consider having the writing as black instead of the dark grey you've presently got it at....just my thoughts.

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