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2021-02-28

Giotto

Giotto
Exorcism of the Demons at Arezzo
1299

is glóraí ná toirneach í
a n-arraing  . . .
teitheann na deamhain 

2021-02-27

Lazarus

Lazarus 2008
oil on board,
Roger Wagner

 

‘tháinig cabhair ó Dhia’
an bhrí atá lena ainm . . .
Lazaras

2021-02-26

Gairdíní Theampall Jōjakkō-ji , Kyoto

Ron Rosenstock
is iad na seanamhráin
is fearr . . .
amhrán an bhambú
the old songs
are the best . . .
song of the bamboo
cînturi de demult
neprețuite. . .
cîntul bambusului

Leagan Rómáinise: Olimpia Iacob
παλιά τραγούδια -
τα καλύτερα....
το τραγούδι του μπαμπού

Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

2021-02-25

féach anois / look now

Debiprasad Mukherjee
looking / not looking
hearing / not hearing -
look now
féachaint / gan féachaint
éisteacht / gan éisteacht -
féach anois

2021-02-24

Fiú má chailleann tú gach aon ní

Even if you lose all you have

Foghlaim brí an rúin sin
Learn that secret which God revealed
A nocht Dia sa Chórán:
In the Holy Koran
Má dhéanann Sé sona nó míshona thú,
Whether it makes you happy or miserable
Má chuireann Sé uaigneas ort nó má thugann dóchas duit,
Whether it brings sadness or hope
Nó má chuireann arraing anama ort
Or anguish of the spirit
Bí foighneach: tá grásta óna Lámh
Be patient: grace flows from His Hand
Ag teacht chugat ina shlaoda
In great abundance.
An té a chuireann suas go foighneach leis an bpian
He who patiently endures the pain
A thagann ó Dhia
That comes from God
Is deimhneach go bhfuil neart - is fírinne -  an chreidimh
The strength - and the truth -  of faith
Ar an mbealach chuige.
Will shower upon him.
Is iontach an dea-scéala a fhaigheann an té atá foighneach,
Wonderful news awaits
Ríméad atá i ndán dó
The one who is patient.
Is den riachtanas é an grásta a aithint
How vital it is to recognise grace
Fiú nuair a lascann fíoch neimhe thú,
Even when lashed by heaven's fury.
Smaoinigh go suaimhneach Air i gcónaí,
Always think of Him serenely
Agus i gcónaí i gcónaí, is cuma cad a thiteann amach,
And whatever happens
Cloígh Leis le do chroí agus le d'anam.
Cleave to Him with all your heart and soul.

Sultan Valad 1240 – 1312

2021-02-23

Ahmed Morsi

"Lady in Black Gown (1)"
Acrylic on canvas
183 x 156 cm
New York City - 2008
bláthaíonn rós dubh
drúcht dubh ag titim
dealga dú' ag lorg fola
        ní bhaineann sin liomsa
        ó bhreáthaigh do mheangadhsa mo shaol

a dark rose blooms
dark dew is falling
black thorns out for blood
        i know nothing of such things
        You graced me with a smile

2021-02-22

Smaoineamh an Lae

 Ní deacair daoine a chur faoi bhois na gceannairí. Tá sé an-éasca. Ní gá ach a rá go bhfuil siad faoi ionsaí agus easpa tírghrá a chur i leith na síochánaithe as an tír a chur i mbaol. Is mar sin a oibríonn sé i ngach tír.


Hermann Göring (12 Ean. 1893-1946)

2021-02-21

Is Afracaigh Sinn: Mionléirmheas

 

Níl áit ar fud na cruinne
Nach ann a saolaíodh sinne  . . .

B'fhíor don Ríordánach. Ach má chaithimid áit amháin ar chlár na cruinne seo a roghnú, is é an Afraic é mar is ann a bhí cliabhán an chine seo againne. Ní maith leis an gciníoch é sin a admháil, go mba Afracaigh iad a shinsir ach is fíor é.

Duine a d'aithin an ceangal sin ab ea Peter Beard (1938 -2020), ealaíontóir. dialannaí, grianghrafadóir agus éiceolaí, agus d'aithin sé an ceangal atá againn lenár gcomh-ainmhithe san Afraic. 

Bhí Beard faoi thionchar Karen Blixen, údar Out of Africa, saothar ar bunaíodh scannán breá air. Finné ab ea Beard san Afraic ar shléacht 35,000 eilifint agus ainmhithe eile. Nach iontach mar a chaithimid lenár n-oidhreacht!

Más mian leat do chuid fréamhacha Afracacha a mhothú, tá an leabhar The End of the Game ar fáil arís agus le ceannach anseo ó Taschen ar €75:

2021-02-20

Má Adhraim Thú

Má adhraim Thú
toisc eagla bheith orm roimh Ifreann
dóigh in Ifreann mé.
Má adhraim Thú
mar go santaím Parthas
coinnigh amach ón nGairdín mé.
Ach má adhraim Thú
ar do  shonsa amháin
ná ceil orm
d'áilleacht shíoraí


Rabia Basri (713 - 801)

2021-02-19

Anatamaíocht Fige

 An toradh ag a bhfuil an stair is faide ar domhan, fige
Creidtear leis gurb é an chéad toradh feirme é.
 
Theip ar mhisean na duilleoige fige i bParthas – chroch
An toradh go mímhodhúil ó chrann, chomh bog le magairle.
 
Athraíonn dath a craicinn ó bhuí is donn go corcra maorga.
Suíonn siad ar a dtóin mhéith sa mhargadh
 
Leagtha amach go néata i gciseán. Beir ar a gas gobach
Uirthi agus sáigh do dhéad go séimh inti, is tais lonrach
 
Dearg breacbhuí súmhar istigh í. Gan síol ná cnó sa tslí ort –
Gan ach bolgam de bhia úscach leáite a mhilseodh do shaol.
 
 
Mar sin féin, ar nós go leor torthaí eile, maireann figí i riocht athraithe
In athionchollú nua. Á triomú faoin ngréin,
 
Cúbann fige inti féin, a gas ina dhlaoi anuas 
Ar a bolg cothrom, a cuid meala á coigilt aici don dara gníomh.

Saleem Peeradina

 

Anatomy of a Fig

The fruit with the longest history on earth, the fig
Is also believed to be the first farmed fruit.
 
In Eden, the fig leaf failed its mission – the fruit hung
Immodestly from the tree, tender as a testicle. Its skin
 
Shade goes from yellow and brown to resplendent purple.
In the market, the figs sit on their ample rumps
 
Neatly arrayed in a basket. Pick one by its nubby stem
And gently sink your teeth into its glistening wet, lush red
 
Yellow-dotted interior. No seed or nut to bar your way –
Just a mouthful of oozing, melting flesh to sweeten your life.
 
Even so, like most other fruit, the fig survives in an altered state
In a new incarnation. Drying in the sun, the fig
 
Folds into itself, curling its stem down
To its flat belly, hoarding its honey for a second act

Poetry | Saleem Peeradina

2021-02-18

Smaoineamh an Lae

 

Chiallódh sóisialachas éiceolaíoch go n-eagrófaí sochaithe daonna ar bhealach a bheadh ag teacht leis an tslí a n-eagraíonn an nádúr é féin. Agus creidimse gurb é ord nádúrtha an domhain ná bith-réigiúnachas seachas státachas. Tá an tsochaí nua-aimseartha thionsclaíoch tar éis ár gcaidreamh lena chéile a bhaint dínn . . . agus ár gcaidreamh leis an domhan.

Judi Bari

2021-02-17

Briathra an Bhúda

Na tāvatā dhammadharo
yāvatā bahu bhāsati.
Yo ca appampi sutvāna,
dhammaṃ kāyena passati
sa ve dhammadharo hoti,
yo dhammaṃ nappamajjati.

Éist leis an mbun-Pháilis:

Níl cur amach ar an Darma
ag an té a bhfuil an iomarca cainte aige.
An té a chloiseann beagán den Darma
agus a thuigeann láithreach é
agus a thugann aird air
tá an-chur amach ag an duine sin ar an Darma.

2021-02-16

One Light / Aon Solas Amháin

 Cad is 'Mise' ann? Cad is 'Tusa' ann?

What is 'I'? What is 'You'?

Níl iontu ach laitísí

Mere lattices

I gcuasa lampa

In the niches of a lamp

Trína lonraíonn Aon Solas Amháin.

Through which the One Light shines.

Caille is ea 'Mise' is 'Tusa'

'I' and 'You' are a veil

Idir neamh agus talamh;

Between heaven and earth.

Ardaigh an chaille sin

Lift that veil

Agus feictear gur mar a chéile iad

And it is as plain as daylight

Gach seict is reiligiún.

That all sects and religions are one.

Ardaigh an chaille agus fiafraigh díot féin

Lift the veil and ask yourself

Nuair nach ann don Mé ná don Tusa sin

If I and You do not exist

Cad is Mosc ann?

What is a Mosque?

Cad is Sionagóg ann?

What is a Synagogue?

Cad is Teampall Tine ann?

What is a Fire Temple?


Mahmud Shabistari (1288-1340)




2021-02-15

Ar an Ochtú hUrlár

Cónaímse ar an ochtú hurlár
in árasán beag
liom féin.
 
Tá péire fuinneog san árasán
a osclaíonn amach.
Tá sé scanrúil.
 
Tá gríl láidir curtha agam
ar na fuinneoga.
 
Ní hé go mbraithim dainséar
ón dtaobh amuigh. Tá an t-árasán
ró-ard ón dtaobh sin de.
 
Ionam féin an dainséar
nithe uafásacha ag titim amach
d’fhéadfadh an stoiteacht seo an leamhas seo
mé a thiomáint lá éigin chun léim
ón bhfuinneog.

Kunwar Narayan

2021-02-14

Naoi

Dulce María Loynaz (1902-1997)

 

Ón Áirc seo, mé ag útamáil liom,
scaoilim focal faoi dhéin an domhain:
eitlíonn an focal leis  . . .
is ní thagann ar ais
Dulce María Loynaz 

as Absolute Solitude

2021-02-13

Dead Flag Blues

tá an carr trí thine is níl tiománaí ar bith ag an roth
agus tá na séaraigh modartha ag neacha féinmharaithe
agus séideann gaoth dhorcha
tá an rialtas lofa
agus táimid pulctha le drugaí
an raidió ar siúl is na cuirtíní tarraingthe
gafa i mbolg an mheaisín uafásaigh seo
agus tá an meaisín ag éag is ag cur fola go tréan
thit an ghrian ina pleist
agus tá na cláir fógraí ag amharc orainn go mioscaiseach
agus na bratacha go léir marbh ar bharr na gcuaillí
is mar seo a tharla sé:
sceith na foirgnimh
bhí máithreacha is greim acu ar a gcuid naíonán sa smionagar
ag tarraingt ar a gcuid gruaige
bhí an spéirlíne go haoibhinn, trí thine,
miotal lúbtha ag síneadh in airde
ceo tanaí oráiste os cionn an uile ní
arsa mise, ‘póg mé, tá tú go hálainn –‘
is é deireadh an domhain é gan aon agó.’
rug tú greim láimhe om agus thiteamar síos
mar a bheadh brionglóid lae nó fiabhras ann
dhúisíomar maidin amháin is chuamar síos níos faide –
mar is é gleann an bháis é cinnte dearfa
osclaím mo vallait
agus is ag púscadh fola atá sí

Efrim Menuck 

2021-02-12

Tamaillín Suaimhnis

Tá cónaí ormsa in áiléar, síleáil ghiúise,
páipéar balla agus móitíf aisteach Pheirseach air,
patrún cabhartha ó na saoithe ar an mbord cois leapa,
tocht Simmons, agus gaothrán síleála ollmhór,
ag casadh de shíor - raghfá as do cholainn!
Tá scoilt mhór sa chófra,
n'fheadar, ceapaim uaireanta go bhfuil teifeach i bhfolach ann.
Cúpla printíseach sa bheár fíona iad na comharsana béal dorais,
a gcanúint féin acu, agus iad róbhéasach ar fad dá n-aois.
Níl ach balla lasmuigh den taobhfhuinneog, ach i gcaitheamh an lae
doirteann an t-uafás solais tríd an bhfuinneog dín.
Ní chodlaím sa dara leath den oíche, bíonn fonn orm
féachaint tríd an bhfuinneog dín, agus spotaí geala ceocha
a aimsiú sa spéir.

Tá sé faoi mar dá mbeinn ar ais i ndúthaigh allta Shandong.
Ghabh déagóir go fáilí suas go dtí an díon,
cuaille ina ghlac, a bhun greamaitheach chun breith ar chiocádaí
ach is ag iarraidh breith ar réaltaí a bhí sé sa spéir íseal
agus ar feadh tamaillín mheas sé nach raibh aon neach beo 
chomh gar sin do neamh.

Chen Liang
Duck Yard Lyricists a chuir Béarla air: Meifu Wang, Michael Soper, Peter Micic & Johan Ramaekers



我的住处是间阁楼,顶子是松木的
壁纸的花纹波斯般诡异
床头柜浮雕着古代的人物
床是席梦思,吊扇硕大
它的旋转会让灵魂渐渐出窍
衣柜裂了很大的缝
让我经常怀疑有人在此藏匿
隔壁住着酒号的学徒
有多种口音,一律少年老成的面孔
边窗外是遮蔽的,白天会有光
从天窗强烈地投下来
后半夜睡不沉,依稀中
我会透过天窗,努力去寻找
天上那些模糊的亮点
这时候,我似乎又回到了山东乡间
一个少年偷偷爬上屋顶
用一根粘知了的杆子
去粘那些矮的星星,那一刻
他感觉自己是离星星最近的人

2021-02-11

Sano Kosui

ar feadh uair an chloig
móid tosta . . .
préacháin
for a whole hour
a vow of silence . . .
crows
一時間
沈黙の誓い
カラスたち
fir a hale oor
a vou o seelence . . .
craws

2021-02-10

Carnival Evening, Henri Rousseau

cé nach liomsa í
bronnaim ort an ghealach lán
beir leat í de shíor
        folcadh mo chuid laoithe léi
        thaistil siad ón alltar chugat
though not mine to give
take it, please, the moon above
it's Yours forever
        these songs are washed in moonlight
        and have traveled from afar

2021-02-09

Táim tagtha chun go n-imeoinn /I've come in order to go

Ní chun socrú síos a tháinig mé anseo
I haven't come here to settle down
Táim tagtha chun go n-imeoinn
I've come in order to go
Ceannaí mé agus a lán earraí agam
I'm a merchant with many wares
Dhíolfainn le héinne a cheannódh uaim.
I'll sell to anyone wishing to buy.

Ní chun fadhbanna a chruthú a tháinig mé
I haven't come to cause trouble
An Grá a thug anseo mé
Love has brought me here
Baile maith don Chara é an Croí
There is no better home for the Friend than the Heart
Chun croíthe a thógáil a tháinig mé
I have come to build hearts
Chuir an Cairdeas seo ar meisce mé
This Friendship has made me tipsy
D'aithneodh Leannán ar bith an riocht ina bhfuilim
What Lover would not know my symptoms
Táim tagtha chun an déachas a chaitheamh uaim
I have come to exchange twoness
Agus dul as san Aon
And disappear in the One
Eisean m'Oide, mise an searbhónta
He is my Teacher, I His servant
Filiméala mé ina ghairdín.
I'm a nightingale in His garden
Tháinig mé chuig gairdín an Oide
I have come to the Teacher's garden
Le bheith sona agus bás a fháil is mé ag canadh
To be happy and to die singing
Deirtear, 'Anamacha a chuireann aithne ar a chéile abhus
It is said, 'Souls who know one another here
Aithneoidh siad a chéile thall.'
Will know one another there.'
Tháinig mé chun aithne a chur ar Oide
I have come to get to know  a Teacher
Agus chun mé féin a léiriú faoi mar atáim.
And to say exactly who I am.

Yunus Emre (1238 -1328)

2021-02-08

Smaoineamh an lae


 Ól as tobar an Fhéin agus tosaigh as an nua . . .                           

Charles Bukowski


2021-02-07

Glórtha

Uaireanta anseo
is deacair glór na gaoithe
a dhealú 
ó ghlór na dtonn
nó glór na dtonn
ó ghlór na fearthainne
nó glór na gaoithe
is glór na dtonn is na fearthainne
ó ghlór m’anála.

Norman Bissell

2021-02-06

Takarai Kikaku (1661-1707)

 thall is abhus
froganna ag grágaíl san oíche
réaltaí ag lonrú

sprais samhraidh –
bean ina suí léi féin
ag stánadh amach

stopann na snáthaidí móra
dá nguairneán mire –
corrán caol na gealaí

nach álainn í an ré!
scáileanna na ngiúiseanna
ar na mataí

os cionn na mara
bogha síne glanta
ag scata fáinleog

i leaba an Impire
boladh na muiscítí dóite
is na gcogar anghrách

spraoi tintrí –
thoir inné
thiar inniu

a céile ite
ag an gcat, bean an chriogair
ag gol ní foláir

2021-02-05

Traein Ardluais

Nílim cinnte, ach ní hé an sráidbhaile san áit iasachta seo
Mo shráidbhailese. Scáthán atá sa spéir, domhan geimhriúil
Á lasadh aige. Gabhann seanóir thar bráid de rúid cois uisce,
Súil á coinneáil aige ar a thréad, an aimsir, an gort cruithneachta
Agus na goirt ríse uisciúla.

Tá damh ag ól. Níl ainm agam
Ar gach ainmhí díobh, faoi mar nach bhfuil ainm agam
Ar na daoine seo go léir ar an traein.
Tá bean ghalánta ag caoineadh, ag síodráil
Faoin bpósadh ar chlis air. Níl a hainm ar eolas agam,
Ach tá sí an-chosúil liom, le mo bhaile dúchais, le mo mhuintir
In áit iasachta mar seo, buailimid le chéile is scaraimid go tapaidh. Féach,
Na huaigheanna sa ghort cruithneachta, na tuamaí nua, na seantuamaí, an-dealraitheach lena chéile.

Ban Ruo
Leagan Béarla le Duck Yard Lyricists,  Meifu Wang, Michael Soper, Peter Micic & Johan Ramaekers.


Rugadh  in Xia'yi na Síne sa bhliain 1973. Is file, úrscéalaí agus gearrscéalaí í.

2021-02-04

Gauguin

Ferme à Arles
 Gauguin, 1888
is cuimhin liom iad, sea
bainimse le haois eile
cocaí féir, a stór!
        agus a gcumhracht theolaí
        b'iad pirimidí m'óige iad
i remember them
i am from another age
haystacks, beloved!
        and i recall their warm scent
        those pyramids of my youth

2021-02-03

John McDonald - Haiku

hameless  -
nae Yule whigmaleeries
bit the merry dancers

gan dídean -
is gan de mhaisiúcháin Nollag ann
ach na Saighneáin

Yule lichts turnt on  -
yirth yin skinklin
whigmaleerie in space

soilse Nollag ar lasadh
an domhan ina ornáid lonrach
sa spás

licht throuch
the hairst treen
 . . . apenin her keel boax

solas 
trí chrainn an fhómhair
osclaíonn sí an bosca crián

daw sinblink
chirtin watter
frae the freestit leaves

ga gréine na maidine
ag fáscadh uisce
as duilleoga sioctha

virus apairtness  -
new peths
throuch the wuids 

scaradh sóisialta -
cosáin nua
tríd an gcoill 

pandemic  -  the day
e'en the craw
muives twa metres awa 

an phaindéim -
an préachán fiú
bogann dhá mhéadar uaim inniu 

John McDonald, Tea wi the Abbot:  Haiku in Scots (Onslaught Press 2016) with transcreations by Gabriel Rosenstock, £10 (pb).

Metre lay at the heart of Gaelic poetry.  Changes in metrical practice were invariably reflective of changes in the structure of feeling and if the modernist poetry which emerged from the mid-twentieth century onwards was less straitjacketed than its antecedents, it was, at its best, conscious of metrical patterns and utilised them pragmatically.

Gabriel Rosenstock’s introduction of the Japanese haiku as a serious literary form in poetry in Irish marked a turning away from the kind of nativism synonymous with, say, Daniel Corkery in favour of the literary cosmopolitanism   advocated by Corkery’s cultural antagonist, Pádraig de Brún, as articulated in a debate between them in the journal, Humanitas (1930-1).  Irish allowed Rosenstock to go beyond the Anglo-centric provincialism of poetry in English to embrace the culture and poetry of Asia and India as well as the work of poets in a variety of endangered languages. 

The book under review is an instance of the latter, a translation of haiku written in Scots or Lallans, the distinctive form taken by English as it developed in Scotland.  (It is not a dialect and is utterly distinct from Scottish Gaelic.)  While the geographical distance between the Scots language and Irish may not be wide, the cultural chasm is considerable, exacerbated by religious difference and long-established antagonisms between Scots and Gaelic poets.  The greatest twentieth-century practitioner of poetry in the language, Hugh MacDiarmid, was neither anti-Irish, anti-Catholic nor anti-Gaelic, but older perceptions have had a long afterlife.

Far from re-running the religious rivalries of the past, McDonald’s collection, including the title, is, in many of the poems, driven by aspects of Catholic devotion:

throu Mass—
the weet's turnt
tae snaw

i lár an Aifrinn—
d’iompaigh an bháisteach
ina sneachta

The poet’s attitude to the Highlands appears less convinced, however:

hielant veesit—
traikit a’ready
o wattergaws

cuairt ar na garbhchríocha—
bréan den bhogha síne
cheana féin

Succinctness and clarity are renowned features of Scots poetry and these make that language and the haiku into suitable partners.  Rosenstock’s translations or ‘transcreations’, as he prefers to call them, will be of the greatest assistance to Irish readers in gaining an appreciation of McDonald’s achievement.

Proinsias Ó Drisceoil


2021-02-02

In Éagmais mo Ghrása

Ní bhlaisim den chorn fíona gan mo ghrása a bheith thart
Ní beo dom gan mo ghrása a bheith faram
Foighne, a deir siad, agus mo ghrása as láthair
Is fuirist a bheith ag caint, a chara, rud eile is ea gníomh
Ó, a Qutub Shah! Conas gealt a chur ar bhóthar a leasa
Ní ghlacann gealta le comhairle!

Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah


The Beloved's Absence

I cannot sip from the wine-cup in the absence of my Beloved
I cannot draw a breath in the absence of my Beloved
Have patience, they say, when my Beloved isn't around
East to say, my friend, but not easy to practice
O Qutub Shah! How to advise a lunatic
A lunatic cannot take counsel!

Litir nár foilsíodh

Sir,

It was heartening to read Enda Delaney's review (IrishTimes, 23.1.21) of Mícheál Ó hAodha's English translation of Dónall Mac Amhlaigh's book Deoraithe. Parthian Books, a Welsh outfit, are to be congratulated on their initiative. I wonder  why it wasn't snapped up by an Irish publisher? 

We need an inventory of the best literature available in the senior language, books that are worth translating into English, currently a world language. We also need support for our literary translators. No scheme exists, as far as I know, to assist translators and publishers to make Irish-language literature available in English. And yet Literature Ireland/Litríocht Éireann has no problems when it comes to financing such titles as a Catalan translation of The Sea, The Sea (Vintage Classics) by Iris Murdoch. It makes no sense to me.

I'm not going to ask how Irish was Iris (or anybody else) but the truth of the matter is that though born in Dublin she was only a few weeks old when the family moved to London!  Clearly Literature Ireland/ Litríocht Éireann is stretching it a bit with Murdoch, yet they won't stretch far enough to support English-language translations of literary works in Irish. Baffling!

Gabriel Rosenstock


2021-02-01

Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld

ealaí thús an lae
tá tú feicthe acu
d'íomhása á taisceadh acu
        nach é an trua é, a chuid
        nach leanann daoine a sampla
swans of the morning
gliding as though they've seen You -
holding Your image
        if only it could be so
        for mankind too, beloved