By MAYA GREEN

On either side of the river lie,
[Ngi pah pa’ub tengab abpa’ siren]

Emerald trees in verdant green.
[Pulung bata’ plaba doo’ bako’]

With boughs o’er the river fly,
[Pekitang abpha’ doo’ mula’ da’an]

Down below, a sparkling flow is seen.
[Ngi liyang, abpha’ buda’ doo’siren]

Such beauty only makes my cry,
[Da’at iyat kaduih, ale’ erkan]

For long there, have I not been.
[Ngalinuh tana’ suk pengah tidthan]

So with my inner eye,
[Kadi’ uih ngelitap lam burur, uih naglinuh]

I’ll hasten to the scene.
[Uih ngesu ame nange maya’ lam linuh]

A reunion of which I ain’t shy,
[Ame kesu petulu ngemuh ale’ ]

To admit without a screen.
[Naam la’ igu’ lam linuh sinih tabe’]

For under the country sky,
[Ame petulu liyang ladan bawang inan]

Nature and I, are lovers keen.
[Lam Bawang pulung, tana’ nuk itan]

And in all of this – I do not lie,
[Uih semulud ‘nih, mo naam uih balih]

For mine mirror— I’ve kept it clean.
[Kadi’ kuh lam niat— uih wan linuh nuk doo’]

In nature I see, nature and I,
[Petulu titah ale’, lam Bawang doo’ pulung]

In our submission, we are seen.
[Lam kamih sembahyang, mawan tah kamih siren]

Shah Alam
1 June 2014
11:48AM

_{This is a rendition, not exactly a literal translation of an English composition that I have done earlier, entitled ‘Nature and I’. Firstly, it’s a real challenge to compose the words in Kelabit dialect, and then to get the right imagery. Thirdly, while at the same time to try to rhyme the stanza. With such a limited vocabulary that I have, it’s an almost impossible task. Nonethless, I’m happy I’ve managed to string some lines.}