Idir Oispidéal Galair agus Teach na mBocht Between the Fever Hospital and the Poorhouse
Anne Casey
The bilingual poem below was commissioned as part of the Red Room Poetry Fellowship 2022 and was first published by Red Room Poetry. See https://redroompoetry.org/ where Anne explains
‘This poem derives from my research into the children of Irish famine refugees in Australia. It was inspired by my visit to the site of a workhouse and fever hospital in my native County Clare in the west of Ireland.’
Púca beag in airde,
scamall bog bán
sáinnithe i mbarróg fholamh
an chrainn gheimhriúil
a’ casadh, ‘casadh
ar an ngaoth aniar aduaidh⎯
a’ casadh, ‘casadh
a’ glaoch sa ghaoth gan trua
d’achainí gan freagra
Scréacha sna craobhacha,
grága na bpréachán
a’ baint macalla as
do screadaíl chráite:
Cá, Cá, Cá
Cá bhfuil tú?
a’ casadh, ‘ casadh:
macalla na bpréachán
a’ sníomh is a’ corraí
faoi sholas geal-liath na spéire,
galóg móna dóite fadálach san aer.
Púca beag in airde,
scamall bog bán
ag tarraingt, ‘ tarraingt
i gcoinne bharróg fholamh
an chrainn gheimhriúil⎯
a’ glaoch sa ghaoth gan trua
d’achainí gan freagra:
Cá, Cá, Cá
Cá bhfuil tú, a Mhamaí?
Tar ar ais dom, a Mhamaí
Tar ar ais
(Cill Rois, Luan Cásca 2022)
Little ghost on high,
soft white cloud
caught in the empty embrace
of the wintering tree
Turning, turning
on the northwesterly wind⎯
turning, turning
calling on the bitter wind
your unanswered entreaties.
Screeches in the branches,
cawing of the crows
echoing
your desolate cries:
Cá, Cá, Cá
Where, where, where are you?
Turning, turning:
echoes of the crows
weaving and twisting
in the silver light,
a trace of turf-smoke lingering in the air.
Little ghost on high,
soft white cloud
pulling, pulling
against the empty embrace
of the wintering tree⎯
calling on the bitter wind
your unanswered entreaties:
Cá, Cá, Cá
Where, where, where are you Mammy?
Come back for me Mammy
Come back
(Kilrush, Easter Monday 2022)
Originally from the west of Ireland, Anne Casey is a Sydney-based, internationally award-winning poet/writer and author of five poetry collections. Anne has worked for 30 years as a journalist, magazine editor, media communications director and legal author, holding senior positions in government and the private sector. Her writing is widely published and anthologised, ranking in leading national daily newspaper, The Irish Times’ Most Read. She has won literary prizes in Ireland, the UK, the USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia, most recently American Writers Review 2021, the Henry Lawson Poetry Prize 2022 and iWoman Global Award for Literature. She has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize and shortlisted for the Red Room Poetry Fellowship. http://www.anne-casey.com/
Tinteán 