Gaoth Chun Dé – A Wind from God
A Wind from God
by Michael Davitt
It is
an ill wind
indeed
that brings
rain
out of the west
as I watch
my old cap
fly into the air
over
God’s chapel.
Gaoth Chun Dé
le Michael Davitt
Níorbh aon
drochghaoth
í siúd
a thug
an bháisteach
léi aniar
mar chonaic
Seáinín caipín
san aer
os cionn
séipéal Dé.
This was a tough one; I’m sure I got it entirely wrong. It’s almost haiku-like in its simplicity and compression, and I had to make some guesses for things (like “drochghaoth,” which I’ve rendered “ill wind”) not covered in my Foclóir Póca.
