Leaf (Poem)
Alana (Y7) has written her own poem in Irish Gaelic
Gan a bheith faoi ghlas ag daoine eile,
Ag marcaíocht ar an bhfarraige,
Ag breathnú ar chath, ar thruailliú agus ar shaoirse.
Tá sí bunúsach, ársa,
Ach tá a háilleacht fós ag bláthú, fós óg.
Ag treorú daoine eile,
Duine feiceálach.
Macántacht agus pléisiúr inti.
Cara le meas agus le grá.
Ach tá sí caillte go mór inti féin,
In áit nach gcloiseann aon duine í.
Ag cur ceilt ar a saol,
Mar fhinné ar an stair,
Ag breathnú ar eachtraí uafásacha agus ar thubaistí,
Gan aon duine fágtha dá leath féin.
Ó, cé mhéad uair a céasadh mé san am atá caite,
Le linn cogaí agus blianta claontachta.
D’fhéadfadh go leor laethanta a bheith mar an lá deireanach dom,
Mar a bhí do go leor eile.
Is mise an chuileog nathrach sa dorchadas,
Solas neamhchoitianta.
Ach tagann an lá sa deireadh,
Agus imím as radharc.
Coinním istigh é,
Agus ansin ligim dó imeacht.
Pointe beag caillte ar an léarscáil,
Áit ina bhfuil an oiread sin rudaí anaithnid.
Ach ní féidir liom cuimhneamh a thuilleadh,
Ná marcaíocht ar an bhfarraige,
Mar tá mo sholas ag meath,
Agus anois tuigim gur in am dom codladh.
English Translation
Unshackled by others
Riding the sea
Watching the combat, pollution and liberty
She’s primordial with beauty still blooming, still young
Guiding others
An ostentatious one
Candour with pleasure
A friend to admire and endear
However, she is so very lost inside
Where no one can hear
Veiling her life
A witness of history
Watching the harrowing events and tragedies
With no one left from her half
Oh, how I have been tortured in the past
Through the wars and racist years
Many days could have been my last
Like it has been for many others
I’m a dragonfly in the dark
A distinctive lumine
But daytime comes eventually
And I disappear
I bottle it up
And let it go
A lost pinpoint on the map
Where there are so many unknows
However, I can no longer reminisce
And ride the sea
Because my shine is wilting
And now I know it is my time to sleep
