I try and obtain poetry books at book festivals, mostly because a lot of shops would tend to shove them to the back of the shelves and bustle the brightly coloured airport novels and chicklit to the front!
Last weeks Dublin Book festival was no exception to the rule, good books all over the place .I bought a Celia de Freine book of pomes, which when I returned home, revealed a hidden CD in the back cover .
I am excerpting one wee poem from Faoi Chabaistí is Ríonacha today:
Anamchairde
(1)
An Bhean Chaointe
Taim ag caoineadh anois chomh fada
agus is chumhin liom
ce gur dócha go raibh me óg trath-
seans fiú amháin gp mbinn ag súgradh.
Ni cuimhin liom an t-am sin
ná an ghruaim a chinn an ghairm seo dom.
Ni cuimhin liom ach oiread
éinne den dream
atá caointe agam-
ní dhearna mé taighde ar a saol
ná nior léigh mé cur síos orthu
i gcolún na marbh.
Ach is maith is eol dom
gach uair a sheas mé
taobh le huaigh bhealschoilte,
gur chomóir me gach saol
go huile is go hiomlán,
gur laoidh mé éachtaí
na nua-mharbh
is gur eachtaigh mé
lorg a sinsear.
Tigím anois
go bhfuil na caointe seo
tar éis dul in bhfedhim orm.
Dá mbeadh jab eile agam
ba bhreá liom bheith im scealaí-
sui le hais na tine is scéalta a insint.
D’éistfeá liom- tharraingeodh
d’Eddifon asam iad
á n-alpadh sa treo is go slanofaí mé.
Le Celia de Freine.
Faoi Chabáistí is Ríonacha, Clo Iar-Chonnachta, indreabhán, 2001.
Chris Murray 