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in this issue
POETRY IN DUBLIN
Gabriel Rosenstock
Gabriel Rosenstock was born in Kilfinane Co. Limerick, and attended University College Cork, where he became associated with the Innti group of poets. A former Chairman of Poetry Ireland, he has published ten collections of poetry, the latest being Rogha Rosenstock (Clo Iar Chonnachta, 1994). He is also author of eleven volumes of translations into Irish, including work of Seamus Heaney, W B Yeats, George Trakl, Gunter Grass, and Peter Huchel. Gabriel is a member of the World Haiku Association. He works for the Irish language publisher, An Gúm and lives in Dublin.
Farrera
written in the Catalonian Pyrenees, April 2003. There are twenty nine haikus in this sequence.
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
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