Poetry Series 1: The Astrakhan Cloak

This collection is unique because it features poems by Nuala Ni Dhomhnnaill in Gaelic (Irish) and English translations by Paul Muldoon. The Gaelic is on the even pages with the English on the odds--side by side. I really suggest you check out the whole collection. The poem I picked for this series is one that has relevance to recent times though it was written in 1991. Without further ado, The View from Cabinteely.



A swivel-wing of light. The suburban drone
kicking in after one more hopeless day.
Kids home from school. Grown-ups from the job.
Doors and windows flashing. Grimaces. Grins.

A car backfires in the next avenue.
The bicycle-brigade in headlong, straggling retreat.
Smoke rising from chimneys. Those shades
behind lace shades, cooking up a storm.

In back-yards footballs score direct hits
between pines. A collie and an English setter
dispute a bit of green. The thunk of a hurley-ball.
Two magpies on the roof, giving it their all.

The picture-windows now have a blue glow
where families huddle round their TV screens
for news of the missiles and smart bombs
falling on the suburbs of Baghdad, Tel Aviv, Dhahran.

January, 1991