The Reluctant Georgian Learner
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Nature and history have combined to make Georgia a land of poetry. Glistening peaks, majestic forests, sunny valleys, crystalline streams flowing in deep gorges have a music of their own, which heard by a sensitive ear tends to breed poetic thought as with the English poets inspired by the Lake District. The incessant struggle of…
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The Reluctant Georgian Learner
Nature and history have combined to make Georgia a land of poetry. Glistening peaks, majestic forests, sunny valleys, crystalline streams flowing in deep gorges have a music of their own, which heard by a sensitive ear tends to breed poetic thought as with the English poets inspired by the Lake District.

The incessant struggle of the Georgians against foreign invaders — Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, Russians and others — has bred in them a sense of chivalry and a deep patriotism which finds expression in many a ballad and poem.

Like in Paris the names of some of the Tbilisi metro stations honour famous poets: Rustaveli, Tsereteli, Vazha-Pshavela and Guramishvili.

Not a great deal of Georgian poetry has been translated into English. Marjory Wardrop translated the great epic poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” ( ვეფხისტყაოსანი ) by Shota Rustaveli. A statue of her and her brother Oliver can be found behind the Old Parliament Building.

I have thus far only learned one Georgian poem, a poem about the wind by Galaktion Tabidze.

ქარი ქრის, ქარი ქრის, ქარი ქრის

ფოთლები მიჰქრიან ქარდაქარ

ხეთა რიგს, ხეთა ჯარს რკალად ხრის

სადა ხარ, სადა ხარ, სადა ხარ.

ისევ წვიმს, ისევ თოვს, ისევ თოვს

ვერ გპოვებ ვერასდროს, ვერასდროს

შენი მე ხატება დამდევს თან,

ყოველთვის, ყოველ დროს, ყოველგან

შორი ცა ნისლიან ფიქრებს ცრის,

ქარი ქრის, ქარი ქრის, ქარი ქრის.

ქარი ქრის (The Wind Blows) by Galaktion Tabidze

Transliterated:

kari kris, kari kris, kari kris

potlebi mihkrian kardakar

kheta rigs, kheta jars rk’alad khris

sada khar, sada khar, sada khar.

isev ts’vims, isev tovs, isev tovs

ver gp’oveb verasdros, verasdros

sheni me khat’eba damdevs tan,

q’oveltvis, q’ovel dros, q’ovelgan

shori tsa nislian pikrebs tsris,

kari kris, kari kris, kari kris.

Feeding the poem into Google Translate results in the following nonsense:

The wind of Christ, the wind of Christ, the wind of Christ

The leaves are pulled out of the karakkar

The wooden arches,

Where are you where you are?

It rains again, snowing again and again

You can never find it forever

Your I like to see you,

Always, every time, everywhere

The long sky fogs the fingers,

The wind of Christ, the wind of Christ, the wind of Christ.

Google Translate has its uses but is still far from able to adequately translate Georgian poetry to English. The opening lines are used for the sound, so might be better described as “Whirls the wind, whirls the wind, whirls the wind”.

I need to do more studying. If anyone could recommend other short Georgian poems to learn it would be appreciated.