Saol an Mhadra Bháin le Tracy K. Smith
Nuair a thagraíonn daoine áirithe d'airgeadcheapfá gur leannán mistéireach a bhí ann
a chuaigh amach chun bainne a fháil
is nár tháinig ar ais, is bíonn cumha orm
i ndiaidh na mblianta úd nuair a mhaireas ar chaife is arán,
ocras orm an t-am ar fad, ag siúl chun na hoibre lá pá
mar a bheadh bean ó shráidbhaile gan tobar
ag triall ar uisce, ag maireachtaint ansin
ar feadh oíche nó dhó ar nós cách
ar shicín rósta is fíon dearg.
The Good Life by Tracy K. Smith
When some people talk about moneyThey speak as if it were a mysterious lover
Who went out to buy milk and never
Came back, and it makes me nostalgic
For the years I lived on coffee and bread,
Hungry all the time, walking to work on payday
Like a woman journeying for water
From a village without a well, then living
One or two nights like everyone else
On roast chicken and red wine.
