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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 |
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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.