Néaladóir
Bhí lé aici leis na críocha
na fíoracha móra ag éirí ina dtaibhreamh
ag titim ina maidhm gan torann
iad ina sólás aici
is an saol ag fealladh uirthi
an leannán mídhílis
an cat ina leac ar an mbóthar
bhí a fhios aici
go mbeadh na néalta ina timpeall
san aer ard reoite neamhshaolta
is an focal deiridh á labhairt
an focal deiridh ráite
Cloud-watcher
She had a fondness for those lands, the great shapes rising like a dream, toppling with a soundless crash. They were a comfort when life betrayed her: the faithless lover, the cat squashed flat on the road. She knew the clouds would surround her in the high frozen unearthly sky as the last word was being spoken, when the last word had been said.
Gan bhás
Tá do chuid dánta sáite
sa bhás a dúirt sí
is d’imigh tú leat ar lorg ábhar eile
gáire an ghasúir
an solas a thiteann i gcúinne seomra
éide scléipeach na lairicíte
rudaí iad a imeoidh uainn
a dúirt an cat caol dubh leat
ag siúl an chlaí
ag léim go réidh ina mharfóir
trí bhláthanna áille
No death
Your poems, she said, are full of death, and you went looking for another subject: the child’s laughter, light falling in a room, the violent colours of the lorikeet. They are things that will pass, said the lean black cat, walking the fence and making a killer’s easy leap through beautiful flowers.
Previous poetry by Colin has been published by Coiscéim the Dublin-based Irish-language publisher in the book Corraí na Nathrach (2016).
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Tinteán 