Rogha Gabriel
Sleachta as saothar Ghabriel Rosenstock
Extracts from the works of Gabriel Rosenstock
2024-10-15
2024-10-14
Dán ón India
I came across poems by Jacinta Kerketta in the current issue of Modern Poetry in Translation (No. 2, 2024). As a language-activist poet-translator, you can see why I was immediately drawn to her work. I wanted to know more. I have made a transcreation in Irish (and recording) of the second poem below, one of the most moving eco-poems I have encountered in many a day.
Cén fáth nach bPioctar an Mathua den Chrann?
A Mháithrín, cén fáth a fhanann tú ar feadh na hoíche
go dtite an mathua?
Cén fáth nach bpiocann tú
na torthaí go léir den chrann?
Arsa mo Mháithrín -
Mairid sa bhroinn an oíche go léir.
Nuair a thagann a n-uain
Titid go talamh as a stuaim féin.
Ag breacadh an lae, agus iad ar maos i ndrúcht
Bailímid iad le tabhairt abhaile linn.
Agus an crann i dtinneas clainne
An oíche go léir
Abair liom, conas a chroithfinn
an ghéag go teann?
Abair, conas a phiocfainn an mathua
go fórsúil den chrann?
Fanaimid, sin uile,
Mar go bhfuil grá againn dóibh.
Why the Mahua is not Plucked from the Tree?
Mother, why do you wait all night
for the mahua to drop?
Why don’t you not
just pluck all the mahua from the tree?
Mother says –
They live in the womb all night long.
When the time for their birth comes
They fall by themselves to the earth.
At dawn, when they’re soaked in the dew
We pick them up and bring them home.
When the tree is going through
Labor pains all night long
Tell me, how I can
shake the branch hard?
Say, how I can forcibly
pluck the mahua from a tree?
We just wait
Because we love them.
क्यों महुए तोड़े नहीं जाते पेड़ से?/ Kyon Mahue Tode Nahi Jate Ped Se?/ Why the Mahua is not Plucked from the Tree?
2024-10-13
Alex Salmond
Photo: Ron Rosenstock |
Alex Salmond
O is he dead then?
say the waters of Loch Leven
Alex Salmond
Ó, an marbh atá sé?
a deir uiscí Loch Lìobhan
Alex Salmond
fegs! is he deid then?
threep the watters o Loch Leven
Scots: John McDonald
The English version of this haiku (or senryu) echoes a sonnet by G. M. Hopkins, Felix Randal, (1880) which also contains the poet-priest's blessing:
Ah well, God rest him all road ever he offended!
Dán Cogaigh / War Poem
War Poem #14
i’ve sat among arab villagers
along the sea
drinking tea
eating dried fruits
praying with story and laughter
for each other’s survival
قصيدة الحرب #14
لقد جلست بين القرويين العرب
على طول البحر
شربت الشاي
تناول الفواكه المجففة
الصلاة بالقصة والضحك
من أجل بقاء بعضهم لبعض
שיר מלחמה #14
הסתופפתי עם פלאחים
לחופי הים
לוגמת תה
מנשנשת פירות יבשים
מתפללת עם סיפור וצחוק
מייחלת עבור שנינו – השרדות
Dán Cogaidh # 14
do shuíos-sa i bhfochair na n-arabach
cois cósta
ag ól tae
torthaí triomaithe á n-ithe againn
is sinn ag guí le seanchas is le gáire
go dtiocfaimis go léir slán
2024-10-12
Ko Un
Note: Gabriel brought out the selected poems of Ko Un, transcreations in Irish, a number of years ago.
Two beggars
By Ko Un
(1933 - )
Two beggars
sharing a meal of the food they've been given
The new moon shines intensely
BEIRT BHACACH
Beirt bhacach
roinnid an béile a tugadh dóibh
Gealach úr ag lonrú go tréan
2024-10-11
Tashlich
2024-10-10
Cóip Léirmheasa/ REVIEW COPY
When a snail starts following a shining path, he begins to wonder:
'What's this? What does it mean? Where is it going? Where did it begin? Where will it end?'
Only one other snail has the answer. Grandfather! Now brought to life in an Irish-language edition as well, Gabriel Rosenstock's poetic vision and Masood Hussain's magical eccentric artwork provide an unusual introduction for young readers (8-12+) coming to terms with spirituality, religion, and the meaning of life.