Farrera [1-3]

1. gaotha ag éag –
cosán sléibhe tréigthe
’dtí an seanséipéal


2. timpeallaithe
ag cama an ime –
nach stuama é an capall


3. gile Aibreáin
deireadh an tsneachta
á fhógairt ag an bhfiach

written in the Catalonian Pyrenees, April 2003

© G.R.
De: unpublished manuscript

IS THAT REALLY SOMETHING

He throws her on the bed, it has to be done,
the polo neck must come off,
the rest as well, a rip doesn’t matter, he must quickly
lie with his skin
upon her skin; she is hypothermic.

Whether that’s really something for me? Of course.
If it works with those pores, then she’ll be saved!

I am old enough; I know
the combinations to which this context leads.
She sweats and she coughs and she must now feel him.
The cabin – what a beautiful cabin – is a cabin
round a rat. For life.

Translation: Diane Butterman, 2014