Saturday, January 19, 2013

Parents: A Lasting Legacy

Om man skulle räkna
Vad det är värt,
finns det inget pris -
oersättligt

Gåvan dom ger
inte bara med
kalas
traditioner
och böcker skrivna
som arv
av deras integritet.

Men vad dom gör
på en vanlig dag:
Älskar sina barnbarn
med ett oväntat besök,
eller bakar kakor
kanske fiskar en hel dag,
med bara lite råd, men alla fiskarna

Det är jag som också fick
denna oförtjänt gåva
Vem JAG är, är föratt
Dom är

Vårldens bästa föräldrar.

Written for dVerse's poetics challenge: write a poem in another language.  Those who know me can guess what language.  Those new to Life is Good, it's in the footnotes.

************************

If one were to count
What it's worth
There is no total
Priceless

The gift they give
Not just with parties
traditions
and books written
as a legacy
of their integrity

But what they do
on a normal day:
love their grand kids
with an unexpected visit
or baking cookies
maybe fishing all day,
with just a little advice, but all the fish

I'm also the one who got
This undeserved gift
Who I am, is because
They are
The world's best parents.

*********

I love writing poetry, and have reams of it since childhood, but I've never written one in Swedish before.

The topic came easily. This week we attended my parents' traditional “take down the Christmas tree” party (yes, very late, due to illness) and it was just such a wonderful time, and great reminder of how blessed I am. My Dad is writing another book (I've now officially lost count of how many he's published...) as a legacy of his life, for his kids, grand kids, and perhaps other immigrants to be inspired to remember their homeland and pass on the legacy of foreign traditions.
As to the last line? One of the activities at the party was some Swedish lessons. He sent the boys home with this phrase for their dad:
Du är vårldens bästa pappa.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

awwww such a nice tribute to your parents

Bichon Frise

Brian Miller said...

smiles...its a wonderful tribute....and in the native language as well...i hope they get to read...you should make it a card and send it to them...by the way they love the grands....that is awesome...smiles.

Unknown said...

definitely a great tribute. Really fun to read. I love most things swedish. My favorite bands are from there as are some of my favorite myths. With the language, the hard k's always intrigued me. I've actually read some of the old myths and fairy tales in their original text and while not knowing line for line, just reading the language brings you back to a different time in it's own right.

the language in those texts is probably a bit different than todays swedish though (just guessing, but someone told me that most of the scand. languages have changed somewhat over the years, and seeing english has, I didn't think to question him),

Again, love the piece. Thanks for sharing with us. really enjoyed.

JoJo said...

That's very cool! Do they have a take down the tree party every year? Never thought of that. My mom usually took it down while I was at school.

Myrna R. said...

I hope my daughter and my grandson feel the same way about me and my husband. You write beautifully about your parents. I hope they get to read this.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Seeing the two versions together is amazing.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful tribute to your parents.

Kathy Reed said...

I've never read Swedish before..how lovely and even more so the story, which is indeed priceless in itself;)

Claudia said...

what a wonderful tribute to your parents...i think swedish is a beautiful language, i don't understand a word but just love the sound of it..

lucychili said...

sounds like a great family =)

kelvin s.m. said...

...ah, it touches on many levels...your parents would be a lot prouder when they read this... You have a beautiful heart to write a heartfelt tribute like this...thank you...smiles...

Jenny said...

This was wonderful Tina. I'm so glad you shred the translation! The sentiments are ones that touch the heart!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. great poem - I loved reading it ... something many parents could do with absorbing .. they are the person they create - that beloved child, the son or the daughter ..

How fantastic that your father has written books for his family, friends and anyone who is interested or finds out about them ... what a wonderful legacy for you all ... keeping Sweden alight in the US ...

Lovely poem, memories and post ... cheers Hilary

Anonymous said...

Lovely tribute to your parents - and a brilliant touch to write it in their native language. I've never seen Swedish poetry before....

Unknown said...

Underbar dikt! Fortsätt att skriva på svenska! Jag tänker på mina föräldrar när jag läser din dikt. (suck)

Wonderful poem! Keep writing, and keep writing in Swedish too!

I wrote a story in English and sneaked a few Swedish words into it to give our English-speaking readers a little sip of Swedish.

Take a look if you have the time.
Best wishes & hugs,
Anna
REW January 2013 - Annas story for 'New Year, New Love'

Jo said...

Lovely poem. I used to write a lot of poetry, some in French, but not for many years.

Unknown said...

I've written a poem in response to yours. But it was not easy leaving a comment on dVerse' blog
Anna
ox

Unknown said...

Here's the link:Här är länken:
http://annas-adornments.blogspot.se/2013/01/foreign-tongue-poetics-annas-poem.html

Kram,
Anna

HisFireFly said...

we just took done our tree yesterday too!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Judging by your poem about your wonderful parents, I think it's pretty safe to say they have a wonderful daughter, too.

Arlee Bird said...

That's a nice tribute. And you've given me another reminder to take down our Christmas tree--as though seeing it everyday isn't enough of a reminder. Maybe I should just leave it up until next Christmas. Easier than taking it down I guess.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Unknown said...

För att besvara din fråga - ja, jag kommer att besöka din blogg under A-Z i april. Men du inspirerar mig. Jag hinner kanske vara med om jag börjar skriva inläggen nu. Jag skulle också kunna skriva något för varje dag i april.
Jag tänker hänvisa till dig på min blogg i vilket fall som helst.

Jag är nyfiken på din far. Skriv gärna titlarna och vad han heter i ett e-postmeddelande till:

adornment[at]live[dot]se

Kram,
Anna

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tammy Theriault said...

That was a great poem but you tricked me, I thought I had pressed a language....haha

Frank Watson said...

Loving tribute to your parents. I had no idea which language it was in, but Google Translate told me and then I read your comments :P

klahanie said...

Greetings Tina,

Heart warming and the ambience of your poetic tribute to your parents resonates, in the language of love.

Peace and health to you, my friend.

Gary