To Poetry, Songs & Drama about the Bounty
"MY'SE HEAB'NLY MORNING"
by Ena Ette Christian
Fo' waeke, slep out en down a walley,
Tek my'se grubber, chip about.
Lantana, baaka-stuff en a thistle,
Cursed stuff, hard f' get out.
Plun leaf heawy f' pearly drip,
I shudder whun down my'se neck one slep,
Fantail flyen roun' side I chip,
Lettle beak goa 'click', get et!
I sti gwen one tree, en staye-willout,
Arn picnic orn all em bird singen fo me,
En d' one I nor se chip out des morning
I ell lubby f' morla.
Ena Ette Christian, c1986
MY HEAVENLY MORNING
To wake, slip out and down the valley,
Take my mattock and chip about,
Lantana, Baaka-stuff (wild tobacco) and thistles,
Cursed stuff, hard to get out.
Plun (banana) leaves glisten with pearly drips,
I shudder when down my neck one slips,
Fantail flits around as I chip,
Tiny beak goes 'click', got it!
I sit by a tree doing nothing at all,
As the birds sing around me, each in its own way,
And the weeds that I don't get around to this morning
I can leave for another day.
This is a poem in the Pitcairn language and its English translation by Ena Ette Christian, a Norfolk Islander now living in England. She has a published book and very recently a cassette tape of her poetry. The intonation is like a song.
CHRISTIAN, Ena Ette. From Myse Randa: A Selection of Poems and Tales of Norfolk Island.
Norfolk Island, May 1986.