Kleurblind – Carina Stander
1. Een oggend het hulle 1. One morning they
2. heel terloops 2. completely by chance
3. mekaar ontmoet: 3. met each other:
4. waar douklam grond 4. where dew, moist dirt/ground
5. met die tyd 5. with time
6. haar hande bruin skakeer 6. turns her hands brown
7. en sy palms wit verbleik, 7. and bleaches his palms white,
8. het hulle eers geskrik, 8. they first got a fright,
9. mekaar onseker aangekyk. 9. looked at each other with
uncertainty.
10. Toe bewus geword van die 10. Then became aware of the
aardse eg earthly authenticity
11. en stil hul vingers in mekaar 11. and quietly intertwined their
gevleg. fingers.
Analysis of the poem
1. Een oggend het hulle The use of inversion (inversie),
2. heel terloops which is the use of incorrect word
3. mekaar ontmoet: order, places emphasis (plaas
klem) on the fact (feit) that this
was an unexpected
(onverwagse) meeting
(ontmoeting) between the two
people in the poem.
“Een oggend” has a very fairy
tale-like feel (feeverhaal) to it as
most fairy tales in Afrikaans start
(begin) that way.
Third person narrator
(derdepersoonsverteller) in this
poem. It offers (bied aan) the
reader more of an objective
(objektiewe) view (oogpunt) as
the speaker narrates from an
outsider’s (buitestaander se)
perspective.
“Een oggend” is a rather non-
specific (onspesifieke)
indication (aanduiding) of time.
“heel terloops” links to the idea
of non-specificity: details
regarding their meeting are
omitted (weggelaat). It
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
1
ALLOWED
, emphasizes the fact that it was a
very random (lukrake),
spontaneous (spontane) and
unplanned (onbeplande)
meeting (ontmoeting).
Enjambment from lines 1-3 until
it is broken (opgebreek) by the
colon (dubbelpunt) after which
an explanation (verduideliking)
follows (volg) of how the two
met (ontmoet).
h-alliteration
4. waar douklam grond It appears (kom voor) as though
5. met die tyd they may have been sitting on
the ground, leaning (leun) back
on their hands for their palms to
change (verander) colour.
Due to the fact that the word
“douklam” is used, one can
deduce that they met (ontmoet)
in the morning (die oggend).
Figuratively speaking (op ‘n
konnotatiewe vlak), this might
also symbolize (simboliseer) that
the relationship (verhouding) is
still in the beginning phase
(beginfase).
6. haar hande bruin skakeer As they put (plaas/sit) their hands
7. en sy palms wit verbleik, in the ground, hers (hare)
becomes (word) brown and his
becomes white (verbleik): it is as
though they assume
(aanneem) or swop (ruil) each
other’s ethnicities (ras) – they
become equals (gelykes).
It also shows (wys) that they do
not care about the colour of
their skin (velkleur): to them,
the way (manier) they feel about
each other, is of far more
importance (belangriker) than
that.
The fact that it is the ground
that makes them equals
(gelykes), links to the idea of
moist soil symbolizing growth
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
2
ALLOWED
1. Een oggend het hulle 1. One morning they
2. heel terloops 2. completely by chance
3. mekaar ontmoet: 3. met each other:
4. waar douklam grond 4. where dew, moist dirt/ground
5. met die tyd 5. with time
6. haar hande bruin skakeer 6. turns her hands brown
7. en sy palms wit verbleik, 7. and bleaches his palms white,
8. het hulle eers geskrik, 8. they first got a fright,
9. mekaar onseker aangekyk. 9. looked at each other with
uncertainty.
10. Toe bewus geword van die 10. Then became aware of the
aardse eg earthly authenticity
11. en stil hul vingers in mekaar 11. and quietly intertwined their
gevleg. fingers.
Analysis of the poem
1. Een oggend het hulle The use of inversion (inversie),
2. heel terloops which is the use of incorrect word
3. mekaar ontmoet: order, places emphasis (plaas
klem) on the fact (feit) that this
was an unexpected
(onverwagse) meeting
(ontmoeting) between the two
people in the poem.
“Een oggend” has a very fairy
tale-like feel (feeverhaal) to it as
most fairy tales in Afrikaans start
(begin) that way.
Third person narrator
(derdepersoonsverteller) in this
poem. It offers (bied aan) the
reader more of an objective
(objektiewe) view (oogpunt) as
the speaker narrates from an
outsider’s (buitestaander se)
perspective.
“Een oggend” is a rather non-
specific (onspesifieke)
indication (aanduiding) of time.
“heel terloops” links to the idea
of non-specificity: details
regarding their meeting are
omitted (weggelaat). It
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
1
ALLOWED
, emphasizes the fact that it was a
very random (lukrake),
spontaneous (spontane) and
unplanned (onbeplande)
meeting (ontmoeting).
Enjambment from lines 1-3 until
it is broken (opgebreek) by the
colon (dubbelpunt) after which
an explanation (verduideliking)
follows (volg) of how the two
met (ontmoet).
h-alliteration
4. waar douklam grond It appears (kom voor) as though
5. met die tyd they may have been sitting on
the ground, leaning (leun) back
on their hands for their palms to
change (verander) colour.
Due to the fact that the word
“douklam” is used, one can
deduce that they met (ontmoet)
in the morning (die oggend).
Figuratively speaking (op ‘n
konnotatiewe vlak), this might
also symbolize (simboliseer) that
the relationship (verhouding) is
still in the beginning phase
(beginfase).
6. haar hande bruin skakeer As they put (plaas/sit) their hands
7. en sy palms wit verbleik, in the ground, hers (hare)
becomes (word) brown and his
becomes white (verbleik): it is as
though they assume
(aanneem) or swop (ruil) each
other’s ethnicities (ras) – they
become equals (gelykes).
It also shows (wys) that they do
not care about the colour of
their skin (velkleur): to them,
the way (manier) they feel about
each other, is of far more
importance (belangriker) than
that.
The fact that it is the ground
that makes them equals
(gelykes), links to the idea of
moist soil symbolizing growth
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
2
ALLOWED
