Pendo Halijui Siri

Love Knows No Secrets

Pendo halijui siri likifichwa hufichuka.

Pendo halina hiyari mtu linapomshika

kula jambo atakiri, jambo lisilofanyika.



Love knows no secrets, what is hidden is unveiled.

Love has no option, when it seizes someone

they plead to anything that has not happened.



Pendo halina huruma kizee hufedheheka.

Pendo halirudi nyuma kwa kitu linachotaka.

Mtu likimuadama majununi hugeuka.



Love has no mercy, an old man may embarrass himself.

Love does no retreat from what it desires.

When it seizes someone they turn insane.



Pendo humuhili mtu mwili wake hudhofika,

Akidhilika mwenzetu haifai kumcheka.

Pendo mtu hathubutu, kando kando kuliweka.



Love humbles someone, their body weakens.

When our colleague is humiliated we should not laugh.

None should dare to put love aside.



Pendo katu haliridhi kitu kiwe cha shirika.

Pendo unapoliudhi mara moja huyayuka.

Pendo huwa ni maradhi mabaya yasotibika.



Love never accepts a communal situation.

If you annoy love it dissolves at once.

Love is a bad ailment that cannot be cured.

Zawadi (The Gift)

Pokea hii zawadi mpenzi nakuletea,
tena unipe ahadi kuwa utaitumia,
ufanye nyingi juhudi isiye ikapotea.

My beloved receive this gift I bring to you,
promise me that you will use it,
make effort to ensure it does not get lost.

Mpenzi zawadi hii kwa siri nakuletea.
Jina lake sikwambii mwenyewe utatambua.
Ufanye nyingi bidii yeyote asije jua.

My beloved this gift I bring in secret.
I will not tell you it's name, you will know it yourself.
Make every effort that no one comes to know about it.

Zawadi hii ni yako wewe nakutunukia.
Siwaoneshe wenzako thamani wakaitoa.
Jua ikitoka kwako ni taabu kurejea.

This gift is yours to you I bestore it.
Do not show it to your friends lest they devalue it.
Know that once it leaves you it is difficult to return.

Wengi wanaitamani zawadi kuipokea
na wote nimewahini wewe nimekuletea.
Sivunje yetu hisani hata yangu nakwambia.

Many long to receive this gift
I have denied all and brought it to you.
Do not break our favour or mine I beseech you.

Rangi Zetu

Rangi pambo lake Mungu, rangi haina kashfa,
Ni wamoja walimwengu, wa chapati na wa mofa;
Walaji ngano na dengu, wazima na wenye kufa,
Rangi pambo lake Mungu, si alama ya maafa.

Colour is God's adornment, colour has no stigma,
They are Earthly brethren be they unliven or liven bread eaters;
Those who eat wheat and lentils, the dead and the living,
Colour is God's adornment, it is not a sign of misfortune.

Ni urembo wake Mungu, mwenye miliki ya sifa,
Na pambo la walimwengu, shahada ya taarifa;
Wanjinga wa ulimwengu, rangi hudhani kashfa,
Rangi pambo lake Mungu, si alama ya maafa.

It is God's beauty, the owner of praise,
and adornment of the world, a testimonial statement;
The fools of the World consider race to be a curse,
Colour is God's adornment, it is not a sign of misfortune.

Hashindwi kupamba mbingu, viumbe na mataifa,
Kila tendo lake Mungu, hutendwa kwa maarifa;
Hubadili walimwengu, kwa kuzaliwa na kufa,
Rangi pambo lake Mungu, si alama ya maafa

He is able to adorn the Earth, creations and nations,
Every action of God is done with wisdom;
He changes Earthlings through birth and death,
Colour is God's adornment, it is not a sign of misfortune.

Abridged poem by Shaaban Roberts
Translation; my own.