Caspar David Friedrich

  Caspar David Friedrich

    tugann an ghealach
    léargas éigin ort
    taoi i bhfad uainn  . . . gar dúinn
               i gciúnas na coille
                fréamhacha casta ag osnaíl

    the moon sheds
    some light on You
    You are distant  . . .  You are near
             in the silence of the wood
             gnarled roots are sighing

Payag

Payag

is tusa an bandia
Bhairavi Devi id' shuí ar mharbhán
tusa an marbhán
                    táimse leis im' bhandia im' mharbhán
                    is an uile ní ionatsa, a shearc

You are the goddess
Bhairavi Devi sitting on a corpse
You are the corpse
                I too am goddess and corpse
                and all things, beloved, in You

Anon ( An India)

gach áit dá dtéann sé
feiceann Jayadeva
na leannáin dhiaga
             líonann a n-anáil a pholláirí
             inniu, a shearc, suíonn filí ag deasc

everywhere he goes
Jayadeva beholds
the divine lovers
             their breath fills his nostrils
             today, beloved, poets sit at desks

Anon (An tSín)

Seated luohan with a servant
late 18th–19th century

Iad siúd a ghabh romham
is iad ag guí de shíor
go dtiocfainn ort
            moladh is buíochas leo
            a shearc, suigh tamall faoi scáth crainn

those who have gone before me
who pray ceaselessly
that I might find You
            praise  to them and gratitude
            beloved, sit a while beneath a tree

Tiziano

lig dom sampla an mhadra a leanúint -
an gadhar loirg dílis -
géim marbh á ghardáil aige
           samhlaigh an ghardáil a dhéanfainn ortsa
           tusa ar tú an bheatha féin


let me emulate the dog -
faithful retriever -
watching over dead game
                 how might I watch over You
                 You who are life itself