dedalus Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 (edited) An Dán Bás Conchubhair Mac Airt Tá mo chroí bánú. I bhfuil cónaí lá fada agus leisciúil. I mo óige a bhí mé ghaiscíoch, I meán-aois a bhí mé comhairleoir, I seanaoise mé díomá. My heart is fading. My days were long and lazy. In my youth I was a warrior, in middle age a counsellor, in old age a disgrace. -------------------------------- The Japanese warrior class (侍: samurai) had a tradition of writing death poems known as Jisei no ku: 辞世の句, often before committing ritual suicide to expiate some breach of honour. In Ireland, as usual, we do things differently. This is not a translation (well, obviously it has been translated) but a first attempt to write an original poem in Irish. I'm waving at you, somewhat forlornly, before a mountain of outraged pedantry falls down on me .... but not here, I hope. Jisei no ku (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_poem Edited March 17, 2013 by Tinker Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Very inspiring, Brendan, your having written the poem first in Irish and then translated it. I like how it looks and would love to hear how it actually sounds. Please consider putting an audio copy of this in the audio forum. Tony Quote Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 There seems to be a humorous cynicism between these lines, perhaps it's just my assumption. Irish wit at work. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosschandler Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 Tongue held firmly in cheek ... the old Irish failing! Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lake Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 This sounds very Chinese. I agree with "cynicism" in Ben's comment, or self-mocking. Very good, I think. Thanks for the write. Lake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Ah, another voices the need to hear your poems....Brendan, I write about the Death Poem or Jisei in the Japanese Forms Forum. I hope you don't mind if I add a link from the article to your poem. I think it is an appropriate example in English. Nice. ~~Tink Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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