1. Dit was reeds te laat vir verskonings maak
It was already too late to make excuses
2. toe mevrou Susan van Breda – enkele sekondes
when Mrs. Susan van Breda – mere seconds
3. nadat sy die oggend om stiptelik seweuur
after she, that morning exactly at seven o’ clock
4. met ‘n lang sigaret
with a long cigarette
5. tussen gladde naels agter die stuur
between smooth nails, behind the steering wheel
6. van haar luukse sedan ingeskuif het –
of her luxurious sedan, climbed in
7. skielik
suddenly
8. geskok
shocked
9. na die linkerkant van haar simmetries
to the left of her symmetrically
10. geplaveide siersteenoprit staar
paved drive way, stared
11. dit was reeds te laat vir verskonings maak,
it was already too late to make excuses
12. ja,
yes
13. maar
but
14. dalk
maybe
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION OF ANY KIND ALLOWED 1
, 15. indien sy nie so besig was om
if she wasn’t so busy with
16. (met die staar saam)
(along with the staring)
17. aan verskonings te dínk nie
thinking about excuses
18. sou sy dalk ten minste redes kon kop
she would maybe understand (kop) the reasons
19. waarom haar seun haar strelitzia
why her son
20. stukkend sou wou skop
wanted to kick and break her strelitzia
Analysis (analise) of poem
1. dit was reeds te laat vir “reeds te laat” = this
verskonings maak already (alreeds) creates
(skep) tension (spanning)
as the reader wonders
(wonder) why
(hoekom/waarom) and
what could have happened
(kon gebeur) for it to be
too late for excuses
(verskonings).
s-alliterasie throughout
(regdeur) the entire (hele)
poem. It could (kan) be
(wees) to emphasize
(beklemtoon) and refer
(verwys) back (terug) to the
title, which is a metaphor
(metafoor) for the mother.
It could also be to
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