Song of the Children (English translation)

Song of the Children/Lied van die Kinders By: Lina Spies Translated by: Maruska Language of origin: Afrikaans (Okay, so I kinda suck at translations, so don't expect this to be any good. I spent like ten minutes on this, after which I gave up. Then I thought: it's such a beautiful poem in my mother tongue, I still want to share it with you all, so here is the loosely translated English version. In some places, I translated literally, so it might not read so smoothly, but what the heck, I think you will get the general idea of what the poem is about.) Song of the children “Let the little children come to Me” the Jewish little boy stretching out his arm in front of the SS, Eyes wide and round on his sleeve the great, big, yellow David star “Let the little children come to Me” the Vietnamese little girl bent and crutched over her stick the way an old woman does to and fro on the battlefield while over her chest a small cross hangs. “Let the little children come to Me” The forgotten littleIrish boy on a sidewalk in Belfast among the blood and bombs that frees his country once again. Let the little children of Israel come to Me, caught in the crossfire at Ma’a lot - small scared rabbits in a burning forest. Let them come, the feared children of a King, my children, slaughtered by the Romans, while in a stable filled with the stench of manure and blood I too, was the Child of Bethlehem. Do not hinder them Herod Disciples Soldiers Adults Original version in Afrikaans by one of our most famous Afrikaans poets, Lina Spies: Lied van die Kinders "Laat die kindertjies na My toe kom" die Joodse seuntjie wat sy armpies in die lug steek voor die SS, sy oë wyd gerek, op sy mou die groot, geel Dawidster. "Laat die kindertjies na My toe kom" die Viëtnamese dogtertjie oumens-krom aan haar stok geklem op die slagveld heen en weer terwyl oor haar bors 'n kruisie hang. "Laat die kindertjies na My toe kom" die klein vergete Ier op 'n sypaadjie in Belfast tussen die bloed en bomme wat opnuut sy land vrymaak. Laat die kindertjies van Israel na My kom, gevang in die kruisvuur by Ma'a lot - bang hasies in 'n bos wat brand. Laat hulle kom, die gevreesde koningskinders van my volk wat die Romeine doodgesteek het toe in 'n stal se stank van mis en bloed Ek self die Kind van Bethlehem was. Verhinder hulle nie Herodes Dissipels Soldate Grootmense