Howa(ok, alright) let’s have a little Friday fun with translating a poem into the Cherokee language. How many of your remember in English lit. reading and doing a report on the classic poem/sonnet “How do I love thee.” written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning? For those who may not remember her she was born in 1806 at Coxhoe Hall, Durham, England, Elizabeth Barrett, was an English poet of the Romantic Movement. 

The oldest of twelve children, Elizabeth was the first in her family born in England in over two hundred years. For centuries, the Barrett family, who were part Creole, had lived in Jamaica, where they owned sugar plantations and relied on slave labor. Elizabeth's father, Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett, chose to raise his family in England, while his fortune grew in Jamaica. Educated at home, Elizabeth apparently had read passages from Paradise Lost and a number of Shakespearean plays, among other great works, before the age of ten. By her twelfth year she had written her first "epic" poem, which consisted of four books of rhyming couplets. 

Two years later, Elizabeth developed a lung ailment that plagued her for the rest of her life. Doctors began treating her with morphine, which she would take until her death. While saddling a pony when she was fifteen, Elizabeth also suffered a spinal injury. Despite her ailments, her education continued to flourish. Throughout her teenage years, Elizabeth taught herself Hebrew so that she could read the Old Testament; her interests later turned to Greek studies. Accompanying her appetite for the classics was a passionate enthusiasm for her Christian faith. She became active in the Bible and Missionary Societies of her church. 

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Cherokee:
Hila advneha Ayv Gvgeyui nihi? Lhesdi Ayv dasehiha hia wigalohisdi.
Ayv gvgeyui nihi aniyaa hia hawini ale ayatena ale galvladi
Ayv adanvto talugisgi ganeha, hilayvi asvndasdiyi vhnai agowatvdi
Nasginai hia dulisdv vhnai gvnodv ale gadolisdi,
Ayv gvgeyui nihi aniyaa hia atlilosdi vhnai nigadv iga.
Hia ayegali udulvti, navi nvdoigaehi ale ukanawi-atsvsdv
Ayv gvgeyui nihi nududalvna, tsilvsdigwv anisgaya alasdi nasginai duyugodv.
Ayv gvgeyui nihi udanvgalisadv, Tsilvsdigwv tsunu agatahvsdi nidvlenvda galvquododi.
Ayv gvgeyui nihi gvdodi hia gvdiha vhnai adageliyotsedi 
Hawinaditlv Ayv agayvli uwedolisdi ale gvdodi Ayv advsgi gohiyudi
Ayv gvgeyui nihi gvdodi gvgeyui Ayv igayelisv aniyaa udayohusedi 
Gvdodi Ayv ulenahidv Nasganvnva. Aya gvgeyui nihi gvdodi hia kawoladesgv
Ugetsasgv, digaswosdi vhnai nigadv Aya vlenidohv ale hilagoiyu Unelanvhi asuyedi
Aya wili gvgeyui nihi utliyosdv ulosonv ayohuhisdi.