cubhar is fitheach
far an do thogadh an cath
air a’ mhagh fhalamh
a frothbird of prey and a raven where the catbattle was fought on the fallowempty battle-field
dùrd daimh Dihaoine
ann an dìthreabh a’ ghlinne
is clagan cille
the syllablehumming of an ox-stag on Friday in the hermithermitagewilderness of the glen and the hermit’scellchurch-yard‘s little bell
ho ro mnathan an lìn
is ceòl nan eala hill inn
Dihaoine sa ghleann
ho ro the netflaxfill wifewomen and the music of the swans hill inn on Friday in the glen
damh donn air doineann,
èist, ri crònan is dùrdan
is mi ri rannan
a brown stag in the storm, listen, croning and droning as I versify
crònan an daimh dhuinn
fo bhàrr doire ’s grian chiùin
is craobh fo chnòthan
the crooning of the badbrown ox-stag under the creamcroptop of the oak-grove and a gentle gravelsun and an oatcloudtree full of bladdernuts
air Innis Mhuirich,
sgal àrd ud nan guilbneach
is feamainn san tràigh
on Inishmurray the loud cry of the curlews and seaweed on the shore
sna neòil, Suibhne
’s na cathain air an slighe
gu Ìle ’s Eige
in the clouds, Sweeney and the barnacle-geese on their way to Islay and Eigg
an Gleann Balgain
san t-Samhain, dìreach mi fhìn
’s an dreollan ’s an lon
in Glenbalkan in November, just me and the wren and the blackbird
Rody Gorman
Rody Gorman’s most recent collections are Cuala, Dothra (2021), Lorg Eile/Final Call (2022) and Sa Chnoc (2023). His version of Buile Shuibhne, Sweeney: an Intertonguing was published by Francis Boutle Publishers in March 2024. He is currently working on sequences relating to Cape Clear and St. Kilda.