mi tawa lon insa pi ma tomo pi kasi,
la mi pali e moku soweli seli.
mi moku e
ona li pilin e wile
tan ni:
meli ona li jo e lupa sike.
ona li wile unpa.
ona li wile awen
lon sewi kiwen pi olin pi kule
pi laso loje pimeja jelo.
tenpo mute la mi tawa. mi wile e telo.
o awen!
sitelen pi oko mi li sike.
sun pi kon sewi li tawa sike.
kasi pi ma anpa li tawa sike.
moku pi insa mi li tawa sike.
ona li lon uta li weka e sijelo.
kule ona li loje li walo li jelo.
o sona e ni: mi awen toki e lon.
sina pilin ala e ni, la o tawa lon
tenpo ni.
kon li kasi kule. ma li laso.
ken la lawa mi li anpa.
lon sewi la noka mi taso.
ale li pasila. ali li pona.
mi lukin ala e jan.
tawa mi la ni li pona.
tenpo mute la mi kepeken mute pi nimi pona.
nimi li wile pona. tan ni la mi kepeken ona.
sina pilin e ike, la o tawa weka!
mi jan Sotan li wile ala ante e ona.
ante ante la mi wile.
ante li suli.
ante li lili la ante li lukin
powe li jo e kama ala.
wile soweli la jan li wile mute alasa
e ijo
olin
kepeken
palisa.
pona la mi kepeken mute, la mi kepeken pasila.
olin li suli li pasila li sewi.
unpa li sewi li suwi li seli.
tawa mi la tawa li pona tawa jan.
tawa jan la tawa li ike tawa ala.
mi kan soweli mute.
ona li jo e linja mute.
mi wile ala kama moku, la mi wile kute.
mi lukin e waso kule e pipi
e soweli e kasi mute e kili.
mi kute e kalama pi kasi en waso
pi kasi pi suli mute pi pimeja laso.
mi toki e mute.
uta mi li jo ala e telo,
la mi kama pini
li supa e sijelo.
monsi mi en lawa mi li lon ma kasi.
kon sewi li pasila li laso ante li
jo ala e teso walo kon.
ona li weka
sama pilin olin.
ona li weka
sama tenpo pini mi.
ona li weka
sama tenpo kama mi.
ona li kama weka.
ilo li ala wile.
ijo li pasila tawa mi.
kon tawa wawa la kasi
linja pakala li tawa kin.
o wile e jan ante ala lon ma!
ona li kama pakala e kasi lon ma
ni e pilin sina
e insa pilin sina.
lawa jan li powe.
ona li jaki taso insa.
soweli li lawa. kasi li lawa.
mi jan ala taso, la mi ken tawa ala
li awen lon sewi pona
li tawa noka
lon sewi pi lipu kasi moli kapesi.
ma ni la mani li lon ala sama akesi
en monsuta en kijetesantakalu.
o lukin sewi! suno li lon anpa mun.
mun mute li lon kon sewi pimeja.
ona li suno, la sina ken lukin e ma.
tenpo mute la mi wile tawa wawa ma kasi.
tenpo mute la mi pilin e ni:
sitelen mi li pasila ala.
ona li pakala li ike.
tenpo mute la mi sitelen li toki sike.
jan li wile pali
li lili e wile ona.
kon ni la mi ala li sona.
taso mi pilin pona.
lape li supa la supa li lape.
ale li ali la ali li ale.
lukin li oko la oko li lukin.
sin li namako la namako li sin.
pimeja li loje la pimeja li kapesi.
kule kasi li laso la loje li soweli.
kon li nasa la nasa li kon ni.
jan li toki a la mi toki kin!
kepeken jan olin la jan li pilin pona.
kepeken jan ala la jan li lon poka
mi
sona ala e olin pi tenpo
mute la mi wile kama sona li jo
e ona.
jan ala li poka.
jan li lon tomo la mi a li lon ma.
jan mi li moli la kon mi li weka.
jan mi li lon la kon mi li weka.
taso
tenpo mi li pini.
musi ni kepeken kalama li kama pini.
ijo li kama tawa mi. o weka e iki!
ona li pipi. mi monsuta e ni.
kule kasi li lon, la mi wile tawa tomo.
ma kapesi la mi la ona li tomo.
ken la mi nasa. ken la mi ijo.
toki li pona. ike li ilo.
Sadly it is virtually unrappable, the flow is mediocre and very music-dependent, as an experimental song it might work as a one-off, but recording it would take probably hours, let alone mastering the whole thing together.
According to my version management, it took me over 8 months (approx. 8 months 23 days) to finish writing it. Originally it was born as tawa li sike.txt on 30. October, 2019 and then it wasn't touched until 27. November, when it was yet again abandoned until 17th of April, when it was finally renamed to tawa en sike.txt. At that time it has doubled its size, only to be put to rest until 10. May, when probably just a minor change was made. More frequent edits have followed, here's the full rundown (the from-till timeframes are only guesstimated, I only see when it was saved, so it's possible that the editor was opened before the approximated time):
tenpo li ante e jan e ma.
tenpo li awen e nasa e tan.
pona li sama pona lon ma ona,
la mi wile e ike li wile ala e pona.
Shadowy meadows
Surround the valley
Skinny wee fellows
Pushing a trolley
The grasses are green
The sky is melancholic...
tenpo mute la tawa sina la mi wile toki e ijo.
mi ken ala awen e kalama ni, la mi wile awen tawa kon.
toki mi li lon. sitelen sina li jaki.
o tawa mama sina li nimi e ona sama "Mami!"
sitelen mi li sitelen sama ala sitelen pi jan ante.
sitelen mi li sitelen sama pu. ona li ken ala ike ante.
tenpo mun pini mute la mi toki e ni: "I'm back!"
tenpo ni la mi sitelen li toki ala awen...
tenpo li kama tawa pini tenpo.
jan li alasa e jan olin ike. sina ken jo
e jan olin pona e jan pona olin.
tan seme la sina wile e jan nasa sama mi?
tenpo mute la mi sitelen e ijo pimeja.
mi sitelen e toki pi pu ala, la jan mute li kalama
li wile utala e mi. mi sona ala e tan ona.
mi kepeken toki pona. ni li ike anu pona?..
This is a lyrics I've been struggling to record, so I finally publish it here.
They were sleeping when the lights came through their window. They were not blessed with great wits or the gift of logical thinking. What they were given was great eyes instead: they had a condition called abnormal tetrachromacy, which meant that they had limited infrared-vision. When I learned about it from them I, as I have been always fascinated by colors and color deception, had to ask...
This is chronologically the first short story I publised in English, even if it wasn't the first I began writing.