On Wednesday 6 May, a new poetry stone with a poem by Elmar Kuiper was unveiled on the Nieuwestad in Leeuwarden. The stone is a gift from grain company Koopmans, which celebrates its 180th anniversary this year and wanted to give something back to the city.
During the unveiling, the stone gradually became visible. In seven steps, symbolising the seven generations of the family business, the grain covering the stone was swept away. Mayor Buma was the first to read the poem aloud, after which Elmar Kuiper himself recited it in both Frisian and Dutch.
In 1981, when the company had been established in Leeuwarden for one hundred years, Koopmans also presented a gift to the city: the statue of the Fryske Hynder (Frisian Horse), which stands near the new poetry stone on the Nieuwestad.
do meist ite
do wolst al wer siedzje
de wurden út ’e hul barste litte
mar moatst earst werom
dyn grûn rêst jaan
waaks mar
bloei en rypje
as it tiid is meist
it sied út ’e ieren slaan
yn it fine sou fan dyn tinzen
fermealst de kerrels ta moal
it daai riist en do meist ite
wat sûn foar dy is
Elmar Kuiper
The poetry stone is part of the Leeuwarden Poetry Route, which now consists of 71 stones throughout the city. Read or listen to the poems at www.poezieroute.nl.
