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| Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Foto le Glyn Satterley, c. 1983) |
TEAGAMH
Dùil 'am gu robh mi saor ach cha robh:
an geata gu bhith dùint' air fàire,
an leathad na bu chaise na bha dùil,
's nuair a dh'fheuch mi na sìnteagan
thuig mi gu robh 'n spearrach sìoda a sin fhathast,
agus is dòcha feist mu m' amhaich,
a' phrosbaig cho doilleir ri mo shùil
nuair a ràinig mi 'n rubha;
ach dè 'm feum a th' ann am prosbaig?
fear-saoraidh, ge tà, dhèanadh esan feum,
is cinnteach,
nam be 's gu bheil saorsa ann ach chan eil.
DOUBT
Thinking I was free but I wasn't:
the gate on the horizon almost closed,
the hill steeper than expected,
and when I tried to stride it out
the silken shackles were there still,
and perhaps a halter round my neck,
while the telescope was so dull
when I reached the headland;
but what's the good of a telescope?
a redeemer, though, he would work,
surely,
if indeed there is freedom but there isn't.
Dùil 'am gu robh mi saor ach cha robh:
an geata gu bhith dùint' air fàire,
an leathad na bu chaise na bha dùil,
's nuair a dh'fheuch mi na sìnteagan
thuig mi gu robh 'n spearrach sìoda a sin fhathast,
agus is dòcha feist mu m' amhaich,
a' phrosbaig cho doilleir ri mo shùil
nuair a ràinig mi 'n rubha;
ach dè 'm feum a th' ann am prosbaig?
fear-saoraidh, ge tà, dhèanadh esan feum,
is cinnteach,
nam be 's gu bheil saorsa ann ach chan eil.
DOUBT
Thinking I was free but I wasn't:
the gate on the horizon almost closed,
the hill steeper than expected,
and when I tried to stride it out
the silken shackles were there still,
and perhaps a halter round my neck,
while the telescope was so dull
when I reached the headland;
but what's the good of a telescope?
a redeemer, though, he would work,
surely,
if indeed there is freedom but there isn't.
le Ruaraidh MacThòmais
(Gàidhlig thùsail agus eadar-theangachadh Beurla bhon duanaire "Smeur an Dòchais / Bramble of Hope", Canongate 1991)
