\u201cWhen one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.\u201d
\n\u2014Mark Twain, American author of Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1835 – 1910)
\n\u00a0
\nWhat Angels Eat is Red Juicy and Sweet
\n\u00a0
\nWell, there is soft delicious Angel Food sponge cake
\nI\u2019ve often wondered if any heavenly creatures eat it
\nthis confectionary delicacy is somewhat tricky to bake
\nI also wonder whether heaven\u2019s angels actually need it.<\/p>\n
There is chocolate Devil\u2019s Food cake a delightful treat
\na deep dark cocoa dessert pastry with a delicious smell
\nwith chocolate frosting chocolate ice cream a must repeat
\ntempting fallen angels in a semi-sweet dark chocolate hell.<\/p>\n
Finally, a heavenly fruit perfect for every earthly dwelling
\nand all the devilish boys and angelic girls spit out its seeds
\nwatermelon fields, farmer\u2019s markets, grocery stores selling
\na medium size watermelon will fit a small family\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n
Watermelon is sandia in Spanish, chandia in Chamorro
\nangels and devils want it yesterday, today, and tomorrow.<\/p>\n
National Watermelon Day is Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. Here is a poem I wrote several years ago and translations of it into various languages spoken here in the CNMI and elsewhere around the world. Readers may enjoy discerning the variety, difference, and similarities among the languages. Vive la Difference! Please enjoy some watermelon.
\n\u00a0
\nWhen Ripe Watermelon <\/p>\n
When ripe watermelon bursts its rind
\nand juicy red flesh can be seen
\nall the fruits of summer come to mind
\nand watermelon is the queen
\nthe crowning glory of every picnic
\njust what every BBQ needs
\nthump for ripeness to get the right pick
\nhave fun spitting out all the seeds.
\n\u00a0
\nCuando La Sandia Madura (Spanish)
\n\u00a0
\nCuando la sand\u00eda madura revienta su c\u00e1scara
\ny jugosa carne roja se puede ver
\ntodos los frutos del verano vienen a la mente
\ny la sand\u00eda es la reina
\nla gloria suprema de cada picnic
\njusto lo que necesita cada barbacoa
\ngolpe de madure\u017e para obtener la elecci\u00f3n correcta
\ndivi\u00e9rte escupiendo todos las semillas.<\/p>\n
Spanish translation by Carol Fernandez who lives in Washington, D.C.
\n\u00a0
\nAn Masa I Chandia (Chamorro)
\n\u00a0
\nAnai pakpak i lassas
\nya sina un l\u00ed\u00e9 i chug\u00f3 yan sensin agag\u00e1
\nayu na un hasso todo i man mange na fruta siha
\nlao i chandia i raraina
\neste i mas ma guaiya espesiatmente para i famag\u00faon
\nkada man manu nu man nisisita i chandia
\nma dakut i chandia\u00a0 ni para u tungu na masa
\nya un luga i pipitasna\u016b.
\n\u00a0
\nChamorro translation by Carmen C., a resident of Tinian.
\n\u00a0
\nKapag Hinog Ang Pakwan (Tagalog)
\n\u00a0
\nKapag sumabog na ang balat ng hinog na pakwan
\nAt kita na ang pula at makatas nitong laman
\nNaaalala lahat ang mga prutas tuwing tag-init
\nAt ang pakwan ang syang reyna.
\nAng namamayagpag sa bawat piknik,
\nNararapat sa bawat barbekyu,
\nKatukin ang balat para malaman kung hinog na
\nMasayang idura ang lahat ng mga buto.
\n\u00a0
\nTranslated by J. Vallejera. Translator\u2019s note: I don\u2019t think there is a literal translation of the word \u201cpicnic\u201d or \u201cbarbecue\u201d in Tagalog so, like the Japanese, Filipinos tend to transliterate many English terms.
\n\u00a0
\nKun Hinog It Pakwan (Waray)
\n\u00a0
\nKun nagbuto na it anit hit pakwan
\nNgan nakikit-an na it maduga ngan pula nga unod
\nNanunumduman it tanan nga prutas hit tagsirak
\nNgan it pakwan it rayna.
\nAsya it sikat ha kada pagtarampo.
\nAsya it kinahanglan kada may barbekyu
\nTuktuki agud mabaru-an kun hinog nga asya an napili
\nPagrisyo pagtupra hit mga liso.
\n\u00a0
\nThe translator, J. Vallejera, is a native speaker of Waray, the fifth most spoken language in the Philippines. Translator\u2019s note: You can use the term pagka-urusa or pagtarampo which means \u201cget-together\u201d or \u201cunity.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lupan Sania A Mau (Mortlockese)
\n\u00a0
\nLupan sania a mau, kilen a sawala
\nmassawan lon en mi par me pukilen\u00a0
\na pwa weuu usun sa pwal anshaanei fansoun le rek\u00a0
\nsania I finesamolun\u00a0finesamolun fan soun\u00a0
\nappwesh pwe e kai no lon
\nfansoun appwesh le rekk
\nfansoun oshosh nge mattiuou
\npukkilen me le awash\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nMortlockese translation by Sapuro Rayphand who lives on Saipan. He was born on Lukono (Likinioch) atoll in the State of Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia.
\n\u00a0
\nWenn Reife Wassermelone (German)
\n\u00a0
\nWenn reife Wassermelone ihre Rinde sprengt
\nSaftiges rotes Fleisch dabei zeigend
\nKommen alle Fr\u00fcchte des Sommers in den Sinn
\nUnter ihnen ist Wassermelone K\u00f6nigin
\nDie kr\u00f6nende Herrlichkeit eines jeden Picknicks
\nDie notwendige Bedingung Das von Grillfesten
\nSchlage die H\u00fclle f\u00fcr Reifheit und richtige Wahl
\nGenie\u00dfe es, die Samen zu spucken.
\n\u00a0
\nQuand Past\u00e8que M\u00fbre (French)
\n\u00a0
\nQuand past\u00e8que m\u00fbre fait \u00e9clater sa cro\u00fbte
\net pulpe fondante et rouge se montre
\ntous fruits d\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9 vont \u00e0 l\u2019esprit
\ndont past\u00e8que est la reine
\nla gloire couronnant de chaque pique-nique
\nce qu\u2019il faut pour tous barbecue
\nfrappe pour savoir s\u2019elle soit m\u00fbre et bonne
\nt\u2019amuse en crachant ses graines.
\n\u00a0
\nGerman and French translations by Dr. Colin G. King, my first adopted son, who lived here on Tinian during middle school, now a philosophy professor in Basel, Switzerland.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhen one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.\u201d \u2014Mark Twain, American author…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-305173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}