Soso & Waldo

I see the world in twilight
Dewfall in the first light
I watch the ailing sunlight
Fade from the day
I hear the wind-song crying
Far from where I’m standing
I feel the oceans crashing
lifetimes away

I see the dewdrops forming
On the grass each morning
I catch the diamonds glistening
Over the ground
I see the tears of nations
Shed for generations
Lying in condensation
there to be found

And when those bright diamonds
Rise with the sun
I’ll take a walk and gather every last one
Bright diamonds
Just like a song
graces the lips so softly
then it’s gone, gone gone

I hear the sound of broken
tongues and words unspoken
I’ll walk the ruins of golden
ages for years
And when the heart is severed
From the past forever
Forgotten things, once treasured
Fall in my tears

And when those bright diamonds
Rise with the sun
I’ll take a walk and gather every last one
Bright diamonds
Just like a song
graces the lips so softly
then it’s gone, gone gone


Ki Mawlynnai

Dew drops on the grass,
In the morning they glitter;
I too from home will depart
To hunt for these pearls.

From the grass that is green
They take off with the sun;
Like them then I'll plunge
To an unknown region.

The thorns though they prick
In a faraway street;
From home I'll depart
And return long after.

The heart too will grieve
Alone faraway;
The tears that gather
Are actually pearls.

Soso Tham – English translation by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

Ki Mawlynnai (Tlysau)

Ar doriad gwawr mae’r gwlithos
Yn loyw dros wedd y gwair
Ffarwelio ydwyf innau
I gasglu’r tlysau disglair

Wrth gwyrddni pob glaswelltyn
Maent yn esgyn tua’r haul
I ffwrdd i lefydd estron
Rwyf innau’n brydlon gadael

Er gwaetha’r drain anniddig
Ar yr unig lonydd llwyd
Daw amser maith a diffaith
Cyn troi at obaith aelwyd

Er suddo wna fy nghalon
Yn drwm dan donnau oerllyd
Mi gofiaf mai fy nagrau
Yw dilys dlysau bywyd

Soso Tham - Welsh translation by Gareth Bonello


Cofio

Un funud fach cyn elo’r haul o’r wybren,
Un funud fwyn cyn delo’r hwyr i’w hynt,
I gofio am y pethau anghofiedig
Ar goll yn awr yn llwch yr amser gynt.

Fel ewyn ton a dyr ar draethell unig,
Fel cân y gwynt lle nid oes glust a glyw,
Mì wn eu bod yn galw’n ofer arnom –
Hen bethau anghofiedig dynol ryw.

Camp a chelfyddyd y cenhedloedd cynnar,
Anheddau bychain a neuaddau mawr,
Y chwedlau cain a chwalwyd ers canrifoedd
Y duwiau na ŵyr neb amdanynt ‘nawr.

A geiriau bach hen ieithoedd diflanedig,
Hoyw yng ngenau dynion oeddynt hwy,
A thlws i’r clust ym mharabl plant bychaìn,
Ond tafod neb ni eilw arnynt mwy.

O, genedlaethau dirifedi daear,
A’u breuddwyd dwyfol a’u dwyfoldeb brau,
A erys ond tawelwch i’r calonnau
Fu gynt yn llawenychu a thristáu?

Mynych ym mrig yr hwyr, a mi yn unig,
Daw hiraeth am eich ‘nabod chwi bob un;
A oes a’ch deil o hyd mewn Cof a Chalon,
Hen bethau anghofiedig teulu dyn?

Waldo Williams

Remembering
One small moment before the sun leaves the sky,
One gentle moment before night falls into place,
To remember the forgotten things
Lost now, in the dust of times gone by.

Like seafoam breaking on a lonely sandbank,
Like wind-song with not an ear to hear,
I know they are calling us in vain –
The old forgotten things of humankind.

The feats and artistry of those early nations,
The small dwellings and grandiose halls,
And elegant myths destroyed over centuries
The gods nobody knows about anymore.

And the little words from old vanished tongues,
They were joyful in the mouths of men,
And pleased the ear when small children prattled,
But no tongue will call on them again.

O, countless nations of the Earth,
With your divine dreaming and brittle divinity,
Does only silence remain in hearts
That once rejoiced and saddened?

Standing on the verge of night, and I alone,
Brings a longing to know each one;
Are they still held in the head and in the heart,
The old forgotten things of humankind?

Waldo Williams – English translation by Gareth Bonello