215 - On A Bench On Arran Poem by cahen thrips

High on a clifftop on the Isle of Arran we came across a bench with a wind-swept dome-blue view across broad Kilbrannan Sound and on to Kintyre beyond. Screwed to the backrest was a brass plaque engraved with memorial poetry to a (named) man who died far too young in 2001 at age 29:

Zo aards
Voeten in de aarde
Grondig in alles
Handen in de aarde
De aarde in je hoofd
Je hart voor de aarde
Je was seer dan aardig

We recognised it as the Dutch language having learned a little when travelling for work to Rotterdam in the early 1970s, so we sought a translation, assuming the inscription to be poetry. One translation came out as:

So earthy / Feet in the ground / Grounded in everything / Hands in the earth / The earth in your head / Your heart for the earth / You were more than earthiness

However, that translation is surely far too literal, so we sent copy of the original poem to my friend Kim, English but living in Holland, and she recognised a play on words "aarde" so offered a more poetic version:

So sincere / Feet on the ground / Constant and reliable / Hands on / Decent and compassionate / Heart of gold / You were more than lovely

This second translation is certainly far superior to the first (for which I confess to having used Goole Translate with its limitations especially for imagery) though at the time of writing, I'm inviting other translations into English. I have no rights over words or sentiments. And these first paragraphs are in the plural but purposely and pointedly the last is in the singular.