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ፋኖስ እና ብርጭቆው Fanosi ina birich’ik’owi 1. አንድ የፋኖስ መብራት በስራው የኮራ፣ Anidi yefanosi mebirati besirawi yekora 2. እንዲህ ሲል ተጣላ ከብርጭቆ ጋራ፣ Inidīhu sīli tet’ala kebirich’ik’o gara 3. እኔ ነኝ መብራቱ ብርሃን የምሰጥ፣ Inē nenyi mebiratu birihani yemiset’i 4. ጨለማን አጥፍቼ የምገላልጥ፣ Ch’elemani āt’ifichē yemigelaliti, 5. አንተ ግን እፊቴ እንዲህ ተደንቅረህ፣ Anite gini ifītē inidīhi tedenik’irehi, 6. ዙርያዬን ከበኸኝ እንዲያው ተገትረህ፣ Zuriyayēni kebeẖenyi inidīyawi tegetirehi 7. አልገባኝም እኔ የምትሰራው ስራ፣ Aligebanyimi inē yemitiserawi sira, 8. ብርሃኔ ሩቅ ደርሶ ደምቆ እንዳያበራ፣ Birihanē ruki deriso demiko inidayabera, 9. እንቅፋት እየሆንህ ስራዬን አታጥፋ፣ Inik’ifati iyehonihi sirayēni ātat’ifa 10. ገለል በል ከፊቴ ብርሃኔ ይስፋ። Geleli beli kefītē birihanē yisifa. ብርጭቆው birichikowi 11. አገልግሎቴማ ከሆነብህ ጥፋት፣ Ageligilotēma kehonebihi t’ifati 12. እውነትማ ላንተ ከሆንኩህ እንቅፋት፣ Iwinetima lanite kehonikuhi inik’ifati, 13. ልሂድልህ እሺ ቦታ ልልቀቅልህ፣ Lihīdilihi ishī bota lilik’ek’ilihi, 14. እንደልብህ አብራ እንደፍላጎትህ። Inidelibihi ābira inidefilagotihi 15. ብርጭቆው ተናግሮ ሲለቅለት ቦታ፣ Birichikowi tenagiro sīlekileti bota 16. Kegoni yenefese yenefasi shiwita, ኬጎኒ ይነፈሴ ይነፋሲ ሺዊታ 17. መጣና መብራቱን አጠፋው ባንድ አፍታ፣ Metana mebiratuni ātefawi banidi āfita, 18. የንቃት ደረጃው ዝቅ በማለቱ፣ Yenikati derejawi ziki bemaletu 19. መለየት አቅቶት ጥቅሙን ከጉዳቱ፣ Meleyeti āk’itoti t’ik’imuni kegudatu 20. ተባብሮ መስራትን ያደርገዋል ከንቱ። Tebabiro mesiratini yaderigewali kenit
The flame and the glass The flame is prideful of his work, Thus he started an altercation with the glass I’m the light, I give lumination, I turn off the dark, I open the light, You, glass, are trespassing, you are not welcome, You are circling around abrasively in my face I don’t understand, how you work your work, My light reaches far, but you hinder my brightness You are an obstacle, you are ruining my work, Go away, let my light go further. The glass If my service is a mistake, If your belief is that I’m an obstacle I will leave, I will give you your space Burn as bright as your heart desires. When the glass spoke this and let the flame go Suddenly, from the side a gust of wind came, The gust of wind turned off the light in a split second. The flame was not very wise, He couldn't distinguish the cost and benefits, Now it’s too late to work TOGETHER.
About the poem
Fanosi ina birichicowi, the flame and glass, is a poem used to teach children to work together. However, it is treasured for being the ideal Ethiopian poem due to its hyper-symmetrical structure, a quality chased by gitim, the most practiced poetry form in Ethiopia.
- Each line has 2 phrases
- Every phrase has 6 syllables
- Each stanza has 20 lines
Dr. Kebede Mikael is an Ethiopian literary giant and scholar whose works span from the ’40s to the ’70s. He produced a total of 26 works, including translations of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Macbeth,” into the Ethiopian national language, Amharic. Dr. Mikael is credited for influencing many Ethiopian writers and intellectuals.