Gabriel Rosenstock
Farrera (2003)
A gunsaku (haiku sequence) in Irish and English
written in the Catalonian Pyrenees, April 2003
1. gaotha ag éag –
cosán
sléibhe tréigthe
’dtí
an seanséipéal
dying winds –
faint mountain
path
to a disused
church
2. timpeallaithe
ag cama an ime
–
nach stuama é
an capall
surrounded
by so many buttercups
how sober –
the horse
3. gile Aibreáin
deireadh an tsneachta
á fhógairt
ag an bhfiach
April sunshine –
the raven announces
the end of the
snows
4. cuach!
le gach glaoch
leánn
an sneachta
with each call
the cuckoo
melts the snow
5. an é nach ngealfaidh
an lá
amárach?
an lá
ar fad, na fáinleoga
as though tomorrow
may never dawn
–
all day, the
swallows
6. seandún?
bualtrach
brothall
an old fortress?
cow dung baking
in the sun
7. nach milis é an féar!
an capall sléibhe
nár sléachtadh
fós
how sweet the grass!
the mountain
horse
not yet slaughtered
8. an sruthán sléibhe
ag brostú
leis –
cén áit?
mountain stream
hurrying, hurrying
where to?
9. áit éigin sa cheo
an cloigín
timpeall
mhuineál
an chapaill
somewhere in the fog
the little bell
around the horse’s
neck
10. an chuach –
éist!
an ag comhaireamh
siollaí atá sí?
the cuckoo –
listen!
is she counting
syllables?
11. seanfhear ag canadh sa ghort
meallann an ghrian
an gleann anuas
old man singing in the field
drawing down
the sun
all over the
valley
12. an mhiúil fhoighneach ina seasamh –
cad is dóigh
léi
de na gealbhain?
the patient mule, standing,
what does he
think
of the sparrows?
13. am bia –
an seanóir
ag canadh
do na coiníní
feeding time –
the old man
singing to the
rabbits
14. aon fhuaim bhriosc amháin –
guth na ngealbhan
sileadh an tsneachta
leáite
one crisp sound –
voices of sparrows
dripping of melting
snow
15. aer tanaí an tsléibhe
gach áit:
sna gága
gallchnó
folamh
thin mountain air
everywhere: rock
crevices
empty walnut
shell
16. cnoic faoi shneachta –
béal an
tsearraigh
breac le bainne
na lárach
snowcapped hills –
the foal’s
mouth
flecked with
mare’s milk
17. a sheanchloig
i dtúr
Farrera de Pallars –
cathain a labhróidh
tú arís?
old tower-bell
in Farrera de
Pallars –
when will you
speak again?
18. an t-iora rua
(ar chrann nach
n-aithním)
tá deartháir
aige ag baile
the squirrel
(on a tree I
do not know)
has a brother
in my land
19. an cnagaire adhmaid
is máistir
é
fiú roimh
eadara
the woodpecker –
first thing at
morning –
is a master
20. taoi amuigh ansan,
áit éigin,
i do thost,
a shionnaigh
shleamhain
you are out there,
somewhere, on
silent feet,
wily fox
21. cén fáth ar dheis?
cén fáth
ar chlé?
féachaint
shaonta an ghealbhain
why look to the left,
the right? –
impossible to say,
the simple sparrow
22. na héadaí a fágadh
ar an líne:
athbheoite
ag bailc úr
sléibhe
clothes left on the line
have been revived
-
pure mountain
rain
23. scamaill dhubha
ag triall ar
an gcéad ghleann eile –
cumhracht an
chaife láidir
dark clouds leaving
for the next
valley –
aroma of strong
coffee
24. leathanach bán
agus sneachta
Farrera –
nach léir
í an Úrchríoch
facing a blank page
and the snows
of Farrera –
Pure Land is
clear
25. litríocht á plé
an oíche
go léir:
tostmhar an fíon
sa ghloine
talking literature all night
the wine in the
glass
becomes still
26. gíoscán na gclár urláir
–
tuairisc ar chogadh
i gcéin
creaking of floor boards –
reports of a
war
far away
27. meán oíche –
níl gíocs
ó chloigín
an chapaill sléibhe
midnight –
no sound
from the horse’s
bell
28. maidin ghlas
crobh iolair
tairneáilte
sa doras
chilly morning
an eagle’s
talon
nailed to the
door
29. uan aonair ag méileach
an fhuaim
á seachadadh
ag na sléibhte
a lone lamb bleating
the sound carried
from mountain
to mountain
Gabriel Rosenstock was born in Kilfinane, Co. Limerick in 1949, and currently lives in Dublin. He is the author, editor, or translator of more than a hundred books, mostly in Irish, including Treasury of Irish Love Poems, Proverbs and Triads (ed.), Cold Moon: The Erotic Haiku of Gabriel Rosenstock, and Rogha Dánta: Selected Poems, translated from the Irish by Paddy Bushe. ‘Farrera’ is © Gabriel Rosenstock.
