2022-02-16

Of Men and War

an gliaire lomnocht
is é ag fáil bháis athuair
nach mór an spórt é
        is spéis le cách an chogaíocht
        thar dheora goirt' na máthar
the gladiator -
dying all over again
for our amusement
        our strange appetite for war
        no one heeds the mothers' tears



Of Men and War is a tanka in Irish and English (5-7-5-7-7 syllables) in response to a photograph by Eugène Atget taken in 1923. After the Great War, Atget photographed a lot of mannequins and statues, including this replica of the Dying Gladiator. From the torque around his neck, we know that he was a Gaul, or Celt.