A Little Bit Of Culture...

A little bit of Culture... Poetry from soc.culture.irish

Dánta na hÉireann (poems composed in Irish)

Posted by K E Dennis
on: 30 December 2000

As I've just mentioned the alliterative verse forms of early Irish poetry, & as the weather hereabouts has reminded me of the following poem, I thought it would make a good coda to the previous post.

Scél Lemm Dúib Gan ainm (9th or 10th century)	Medieval Irish Lyrics edited & translated by James Carney *Berkeley & Dublin: Univ. of California Press & The Dolmen Press, 1967*
	News I Bring - translation by James Carney

Scél lemm dúib;
dordaid dam,
snigid gaim,
ro-fáth sam;

gáeth ard úar,
ísel grían,
gair a rith,
ruirthech rían;

rorúad rath,
ro-cleth cruth,
ro-gab gnáth
giugrann guth;

ro-gab úacht
etti én,
aigre ré:
é mo scél.

News I Bring
trans., James Carney

News I bring:
bells the stag,
winter snow,
summer past;

wind high, cold;
low the sun,
short its course;
seas run strong;

russet bracken,
shape awry;
wild goose raises
wonted cry;

cold lays hold
on wings of bird;
icy time:
this I heard.

[see also Sneachta, by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill]

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