Haiku

John McDonald
souch throuch
the abbey ruinage
... chauntin
 
leoithne trí
fhothrach na mainistreach
... cantaireacht
 
 
auld bull meditatin –
sin
on’s pisle
 
 seantarbh ag machnamh ...
an ghrian
ar a bhod
 
 
armistice day –
leaves fawin
i thair millions
 
 lá sos cogaidh ...
duilleoga ag titim
ina milliúin
 
 
deid bawdrons
amang the leaves
... curlt up
 
 cat marbh
i measc na nduilleog
... cuachta suas
 
 
hallae e’en –
rackets smuir oot
the sterns
 
 oíche shamhna ...
folaíonn tinte ealaíne
na réaltaí
 
 
i the burn
the monie-colourt clints
o hairst
 
 sa tsruthán
carraigeacha ildaite
an fhómhair
 
 
on the boolin green
craws’r stoorin efter
a maw
 
ar an bhfaiche bollaí
préacháin sa tóir
ar fhaoileán
 
 
on a cloody day
yin straik o blae
... kingfisher
 
 lá scamallach
stríoc ghorm amháin
... cruidín
 
 
hallae e’en –
pumpkin bree the day
pumpkin bree the morn
 
oíche shamhna –
anraith puimcín inniu
anraith puimcín amárach
 
 
sweet peas
sclimin
the jyle palin
 
 piseanna cumhra
fál an phríosúin acu
á dhreapadh
 
 
i the doctor’s surgery
a paulm tree
... deein
 
in íoclann an dochtúra
crann pailme
... ag fáil bháis
 
--Translated from Scots

Translation by: Gabriel Rosenstock

Page 63, Poetry Ireland Review Issue 120
Issue 120

Poetry Ireland Review Issue 120:

Edited by Vona Groarke

Vona Groarke's final issue as editor is packed with new poems from leading contemporary poets, including Simon Armitage, Sinéad Morrissey, Colette Bryce, Paul Muldoon, Sean O'Brien and Caitríona O'Reilly. Books reviewed include new work from Derek Mahon, Bernard O'Donoghue, Rita Ann Higgins, Martina Evans, Denise Riley and the 2016 Forward Prize winner Vahni Capildeo. The centrepiece of the issue is an interview with Paul Muldoon in which the Armagh maestro shares his thoughts on subjects as diverse as public surveillance, the economic down-turn, and the exclamation mark. The cover image is by photographer Justyna Kielbowicz, and the issue also contains award-winning artwork from Sven Sandberg, Aoife Dunne, Jane Rainey, and Michelle Hall. Instead of an editorial, Vona herself answers the questionnaire she put to the contributors of Poetry Ireland Review Issue 118: The Rising Generation.