Colm Breathnach is an Irish-language poet, novelist and translator. He has published six collections of poetry and a selected edition.
He has received the premier Irish-language Oireachtas poetry prize four times. His work has been translated into various languages, including a Romanian edition of his collection to his deceased father, An Fear Marbh. In 2011 he took up an international residency with the Shanghai Writers’ Association. He latest collection ‘Dánta’ agus dánta eile is due out soon.
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Sneachta
Sneachta
go siúlaím tríd
ar mo shlí chugat
go ndeineann mo chosa
rian silteach ann
go gcuireann a thost
uaigneas orm
go bplúchann a ghile ghéar
cágaíl dhubh an phréacháin ionam
go míníonn a mhíne
an gleann im’ bholg
gur toll
an t-aer a análaím
dá bharr
gur chugat
a shiúlaím tríd
mar shneachta
a ríon bhán
a ríon bhán gheal
a ríon bhán gheal atá ar lár
Snow
Snow
I walk through
on my way to you
that I leave
trickling footprints in
the silence of which
makes me lonesome
the sharp whiteness of which smothers
the black cawing of the crow in me
the smoothness of which smoothes
the valley in my stomach
which causes
the air I breathe
to feel empty
that I walk
through
to you
my fair queen
my bright fair queen
my bright fair queen that is gone
Siuil Leat
gan eolas slí a chur:
mar a chumann an spéir
a lá fhéin,
mar a líonann taoide ghlé
a bá fhéin,
mar a ghearrann gach gaoth
a gréasán fhéin,
deineann cosa
a gcosán fhéin.
Walk
without seeking directions:
as the sky shapes
its own day,
as the clear tide
fills its own bay,
as each breeze
carves its own trace
feet make
their own way.
Nebraska
Seo linn go Nebraska:
tá an féar ann ard
agus na daoine níos airde,
tá na bóithre ann díreach
agus na daoine níos dírí,
nó sin a shamhlaím.
Seo linn go Dubrovnik:
tá an spéir ann álainn
is na daoine níos aoibhne
tá an fíon ann mín
is na daoine níos míne,
nó sin a shamhlaím.
Seo linn trasna féarthailte,
ag glamaíl leis na réalta
seo linn fan cóstaí gréine
ag tógaint an aeir.
Seo linn ’dtí’n bPatagóine,
nó go Com Dhíneoil.
Déanaimis orainn fhéin arís:
táimse ard
is táim díreach,
tá tusa álainn
agus mós mín,
nó sin a shamhlaímse i gcónaí.
Nebraska
Let’s head for Nebraska:
the grass there is tall
and the people are taller,
the roads there are straight
and the people are straighter,
or that’s how I imagine it.
Let’s head for Dubrovnik:
the sky there is beautiful
and the people more pleasant,
the wine there is smooth
and the people are smoother,
or that’s how I imagine it.
Let’s cross prairies
howling at the stars
Let’s travel coasts of sunshine
taking the air.
Let’s head for Patagonia
or Cuminole.
Let’s head back to ourselves again:
I am tall
and I’m straight.
you are beautiful
and so suave,
or at least that’s how I always see it.