CEAITÍ NÍ BHEILDIÚIN
Sa Bhothán le linn an Ghorta
oíche
Fáilte isteach, do shláinte cnaíte
Ag an ocras. Tá bia gann ach
A dhóthain sa phota anso dhuit.
oíche eile
Druid isteach is niúmóine ort, a chroí.
Tá an chruithneacht críochnaithe againn
Ach riarfaimid ort an mhin bhuí.
agus oíche eile
Mo ghraidhin sibh agus eitinn oraibh
Tá an tigh lán ach tuigimid bhur gcás.
Fáiscíg’ isteach linn is roinneoimid libh
An bás.
Translation by GABRIEL ROSENSTOCK
A Hovel in the Hungry Years
one night
Step inside, it’s famished
ye are. Food is scarce
but there’s enough in the pot for ye.
another night
Come in, is it the pneumonia ye have.
The wheat’s no more
but ye’ll have some Indian meal.
and another night
Ah now is it the consumption ye have;
the house is full but with the sorry state of ye
we’ll all squeeze in and share what there is
death.
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Powerful poem, reminiscent, for me, of the work of Bertolt Brecht: catching a deep emotion in simple language. Both aspects are equally important: the simplicity of the words, the depth of the feeling.