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Nosta

This is a poem that I wrote for my friend Samantha on her birthday that is the 23^rd December. Since she is a Baptist Christian, and her birthday is so close to Christmas Day, I intended for the poem to be applicable to both her own birthday, and that of Jesus Christ. For this reason, I have used the indiscriminate (of sex) pronoun ta rather than the gender specific so and se (masculine and feminine, respectively), and consequently the loosely indiscriminate pronoun they/them to refer to a singular subject/object in the English translation since my friend is female and Jesus was male.

Yárë nyárer lantar súrinen,

Yénion únótimë ve cuili Fírimaron,

Ar minë tulë ósanwenna, réssë sina,

Réo írë elen silnë alcarinquavë

Ar hína né colda

I tultanë valda ar alassë

Minna Ambar yo ta

I antannar i engwer.

Nan lá nyárë ná er,

Erya réssë sina, nosto.

Ancient tales fall in the winds,

Of long years numberless as the lives of men,

And one comes to mind, on this day,

Of a day when a star shone brilliantly

And a child there was born

Who brought happiness and joy

Into the world with them;

In all the faces that surrounded them.

But more than a tale it remains,

On this special day, of birth.

INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION

Yárë nyárer lantar súrinen,

ancient.pl. tale.pl. fall.prs.pl. wind.instr.pl.

Yénion únótimë ve cuili Fírimaron,

year.pl.gen numberless like life.pl mortal_man.pl.gen.

Ar minë tulë ósanwenna, réssë sina,

and one come.prs. thought.all. day.loc. this

Réo írë elen silnë alcarinquavë

day.gen when star shine.pst. brilliantly

Ar hína né colda

and child be.pst. bear.pst.part.

I tultanë valda ar alassë

pro.r. bring.pst. happiness and joy

Minna Ambar yo ta

world.all. with 3.s.

I antannar i engwer.

a.d. face.all.pl. pro.r. exist.pst.pl.

Nan lá nyarë ná er,

but beyond tale be.prs. still

Erya réssë sina, nosto.

singular day.loc. this birth.gen.

VOCABULARY

yára adj. ancient

nyárë (nyáre-) n.a. tale

lanta- v.i. fall

súrë n.a. wind

yén n.a. year, cycle

únótimë adj. numberless

ve prep. like, as

cuilë n.a. life

Fírima n.p. Mortal Man

ar conj.+ and

minë adj., n. one

tul- v.i. come

ósanwë n.a. thought

ré n.a. day

sina adj.d. this (here, present)

írë pro.r. when

elen n. star

sil- v.i. shine

alcarinqua adj. brilliant, glorious

hína n. child, heir

na- v.i. be

col- v.t. bear (children)

i a.d. the

i pro.r. who, which

tulta- v.t. bring

valda n.a. happiness

alassë n.a. joy

minna prep. into (there is also the older variant mir)

Ambar n.p. (the) World

yo prep. with

ta pro. he, she, it (indiscriminate third person singular subject pronoun)

anta n.c. face

ëa- v.i. exist, be

nan conj.– but

lá prep. beyond

er adv. still (this word has several other meanings, but this is the one used in this poem)

erya adj. singular, special

nosta n.a. birth