Ho, mia kor'

Ho, mia kor' is considered to be the first literary text ever published in Esperanto. It is a short poem by L. L. Zamenhof, which was written a short time before he released the Unua Libro (First Book) in which it was published, in 1887. “Zamenhof wrote at this time, very short verses. They sound much like the hard breathing of a person in a building, who runs to climb 5 flights of stairs and finally stops behind the door.” (Edmond Privat, Vivo de Zamenhof, pg. 35.)

Ho, mia kor'

Ho, mia kor', ne batu maltrankvile,

El mia brusto nun ne saltu for!

Jam teni min ne povas mi facile,

Ho, mia kor'!

Ho, mia kor'! Post longa laborado

Ĉu mi ne venkos en decida hor'?

Sufiĉe! trankviliĝu de l' batado,

Ho, mia kor'!

Oh, My Heart

Oh, my heart, don't beat so uneasily,

Do not leap from my chest now!

I can barely hold myself now,

Oh, my heart!

Oh, my heart! After a long labor,

Will I not win in the critical hour?

Enough! ease your beating,

Oh, my heart!

Source

• Enciklopedio de Esperanto (1934).