A season for springing into action to spruce things up (after a slumber) has arrived. Below is my tribute to this wonderful season of new beginnings:
Lumela selemo,
Selelekela sa lehlabula,
Kobo ea rona mafutsana!Kapa ka leleme la moo bokholoa, u batla ke re:
Molo, abusheni, sanibona, avuwani?
Hore na u batlang,
Tseba hore ke tla phethisa;
Hoba u lehakoe la pelo ea ka.Ha u fihla kea nyakalla.
U tla le mofuthu oa letsatsi.
U tla le meloli ea linonyana.
Ho feta moo, u tla le botle ba lithung-thung.Selemo! U se u fihlile.
Ke thabo le monyaka feela ho ‘na.
Malume boo!
An in context translation of the above is as follows:
Greetings (in Sesotho) to you spring,
The prelude of summer,
The blanket for us the poor!Or you prefer a greeting in the language of this land,
(which I have seemingly made home)? 1
Whatever your preference,
Know your wish is my command;
For you are a precious stone in my heart.When you arrive I become blissful.
You come with the warmth of the sun.
You come with the melody of the birds.
Moreover, you come with blossoms of beauty.Spring! You have arrived.
Joy and happiness reign supreme in me.
I triumphantly herald you!
- This implication is embedded in the use of the word bokholoa, which refers to a place where a long-term absentee from the motherland (lekholoa) resides in. ↩