Today’s poetry resource is the archives of Poetry International, where you’ll find poems from all over the world, both in their original languages and in translation.
Today’s optional prompt asks you to make use of today’s resource. Find a poem in a language that you don’t know, and perform a “homophonic translation” on it. What does that mean? Well, it means to try to translate the poem simply based on how it sounds. You may not wind up with a credible poem at the end, but this can be a fun way to step outside of your own mind for a bit, and develop a poem that speaks in a distinctive voice.
I found this really challenging. I chose a Potuguese poem which can be read on the following link:
https://www.poetryinternational.org/pi/poem/29132/auto/0/0/Miguel-Manso/STAGE/en/tile
The Original poem:
PALCO
o poema é antes de tudo
um palco para gestos simples
eu rego as flores de Junho
My translation of the poem:
A predicted poem
O poem! You tire me today
I predicted the para to be simple
As ready as the flowers of June
Original Translation of the poem:
STAGE
the poem is above all else
a stage for simple gestures
I water the June flowers
Clap clap clap…am still at lost
That is an incredible approach!!
Loved it.
Ha Ha! I know I messed up badly at the backdrop of original version 🙂