Lefifi la mosotho
I walk through the shadows, feeling the cold weight of the night.
It has darkened like grief, le fifetse ka leso,
Something kept hidden, go utfilwego sephiri.
A lack of hope, go hlokagala tshepo,
Saddening and low, go nyamišago.
Cruel and bad, e kgopo e mpe,
Lacking knowledge, e hloka tsebo,
Lacking patience, e hloka kgotlelelo.
Offended and ruined, e kgopišehile e befile,
In a place of darkness, lefelong la lefifi,
At a time of darkness, ka nako ya lefifi—
I pause, realizing that a lack of knowledge is a secret, thlokotsebo ke sephiri.
Deep black, thoko e ntsho,
Daytime covered by clouds, mosegare e khurumeditšwego ke maru,
Made dark, fifalitšwego.
Faded and unclear, go phetsego go sa bonagalego gabotse,
Dirtied, go tšhilafetšwego,
Lacking bright color, go se nang mmala o phadimang.
Sleepy without sharpness, e boroko e se nang bohale,
Full of mist over there, moga o tletšego mola,
Saddening and dark, e nyamišago e na le lefifi.
Full of falling rain, e tletšego go foka ga pula,
Unclear and dirtied, e se nang pejena e tšhilafetšwego,
Clouds bringing shade, maru a e-tla mmoriti,
Full of deep pain, o tletšego bohloko bja bofelelo.
Evening turning dark, mantsiboa go fifala,
Black as ink, e ntsho boka enke,
Without a lamp, e se nang lebone,
Unknown and short, e sa tsebjego e khutsoane.
Deepest black darkness, lefifi le lentsho-ntsho,
Great darkness, lefifi le legolo,
Holding shade, le na le moriti,
Without sun, le se nang letšatši,
Unlit, le sa ganyetšwago.
Deep down, tlhase e tseneletšego,
Surprising secret, e makatšago ya sephiri,
Concealed, e utfilwego,
Blocked out, e thijwego,
Hidden away, e utfilwego.
Cold and hopeless, e tonyana e se nang tshepo,
Showing danger, e laetšago kotsi,
Cruel and sinister, e kgopo,
Disappointing, e swabisago,
Having bad thoughts, e na le mehopolo e mebe,
Sorrowful, e hlomogilego,
Bad, e mpe,
Rotten, e bodilego e mpe,
Of the fires of hell, ya molelo wa gehena.
Terrifyingly ruined, e goboletšego go tšhošago,
Lacking manners, e hlokago boitshwaro,
Full of sin, e tletšego sebe,
Without value, e se nang boleng,
Wicked, e bokgopo,
Scaring, e tšhošetšago.
Darkness, lefifi,
Time of darkening, kgora-di-tsena nako ya go fifala,
Sad evening darkness, mantsiboa lefifi le le nyamišago,
Deepest dead of night, serepodi mosegare wa bošego,
Night at the setting sun, bošego go kgaoga ga letšatši,
Deep shadows at sunset, meriti e mahlababaneng go dikela ga letšatši.
Yet, as I lift my eyes, I feel the dawn breaking through the gloom.
Shining and lit up, e phadimang e bonesitšwego,
Happy and clean, e thabilego e hlwekilego,
Clearly shown, e laetšegago gabotse,
Easily accepted, e amogelegago gabotse,
Beautiful and happy, e botse e thabilego,
Wise and full of joy, e bohlale e tletšego lethabo.
Light lamp, lebone la bofefo,
Shining in the dark, go phadimang nakong ya lefifi,
Wise with the sun, e bohlale e na le letšatši,
Visible and bright, e bonagalago e phadimang kudu,
Inspiring and guiding, e hlohleletšago e laetšego,
Filled with lit hope, e na le tshepo e bonesitšwego,
Having good manners, e na le mekgwa e mebotse,
Simple and pleasing, e bonolo e kgahlilwego.
Giving off shine, e ntšhago saene,
Glowing and visible, e saenago e bonagalago,
Vividly showing colors, e na le mebala e strongly bonagalago,
Truthful and good, e na le nnete e lokilego.
In beautiful daylight, mosegareng o mobotse,
In the morning of transformed learning, mesong ya thuto e mpethegilego,
The unfolding of revelation, go tswelela kutullo.
I stand transformed, leaving behind the dark paths I once walked.
On the side of ignorance, go ba ka hlakoreng la go hloka tsebo,
Blackness beyond sight, bontsho go se bone,
Without joy, go se be le lethabo,
Small darkness is heavy, lefifi le lenyenyane go boima.
Without comfort, e se nang khomotso,
Kept as a secret, e swanetšego go ba sephiri,
Unfinished and unclear, e sa phetšwego e sa bonagalego gabotse,
Without shine in the night, e se nang saene bošego.
Thinking only bad things, go nagana tše mpe fela,
Disappointed and sorrowful, go nyama e le go hlomoga,
A secret of hiding, sephiri sa mokgwa wa go utfela.
Shade with smoke and mist, moriti e na le mosi le mola,
A person full of pain, motho yo motsho wa mmala o tletsego bohloko,
Ugly and unknown, e mpe e sa tsebjego,
Unseen and unclear, e sa bonwago e sa hlakang
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