There’s this famous Norwegian poem I’ve been thinking about lately, called “Du ska itte trø i graset” (something like “you mustn’t tread on the grass”, only in a specific type of dialect, by Einar Skjæraasen).

I thought it would be an interesting challenge to try and translate it into English for this post. Translation is meditation, sometimes, since it requires a very tight focus on a sequence of words. What does this word mean in the source language? Is this word the right equivalent? Does this word mean something else than the meaning that I want?

I do prefer to translate into Norwegian – my heart language – and the principle in translation done professionally is that you translate into your native language. But translating into a second language can also be great learning.

So with that in mind – here is my attempt at a translation of this poem:

You mustn’t tread on the grass, by Einar Skjæraasen

You mustn’t tread on the grass.
The smallest seedlings should be spared.
Speechless life has meaning too
that you should study with your eyes and mind.
On God’s earth and in his garden
you’re a seedling too.

You mustn’t touch the nest,
the nest is a tiny bed.
Its tender, warm wings the wagtail spreads
over her slender hatchlings.
The cheep in the smallest craw
becomes birdsong over the field.

You mustn’t set a snare
When you see the tracks of a hare.
You must watch out and care
for all that flies and skips and grows.
You yourself is a small and weak one,
you yourself need an older brother too.

~ Happy spring from Jenny G.