Mando'a Poetry

Akaan’ika

The square is stagnant; the circle is alive.
The mountain waits, the ocean is merciless.
Fire devours and the wind is free.
All things are in you.

In peace time, sit in one place.
Grow sharper, day after day.
In war time, be everywhere, invisible.

Absorb to the north,
conceal to the south,
feint to the east,
obstruct to the west.

Empty, yet full, as one,
breathe, observe, breathe,
approach, lay waist to the center,
escape!

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Akaan’ika (o’r Mando’a)

Cunak arasuum'la; briirud oyayc.
Cerar pare; sho'cye adenn.
Tracyn eparavu; woor mav.
An kebise o’r gar.

O’r naak’ca'nara, k’shebe o’r solus taap.
k’drashaa kad'lashy'a, tuur de tuur.
O’r akaan’ca'nara, k’cuyi gayiyla, nuhaatyc.

K’soorani bah gaht,
k’haaranovo bah ka'gaht,
k’jenara bah abesh,
k’ara'novo bah wasuur.

Ut'reeyah, su yaihi'l, solus,
haalu, ja'haili, haalu,
ara'novo, jarile haar petir,
eyayti!

I have a lot of hobbies. I write poetry. I also conlang.

So, here we are. Thoughts?

When you write in this way do you write specifically for your chosen conlang or do you write as you will and fit it to the language after? I only ask because I know some conlangs have limited vocabulary.

In this case, the former. Mando'a has only a few hundred words, so there are only so many things you can discuss. Also, I try to write in a way that is relevant to the culture from which the language is derived.