An Gàidheal – Poetry
Before I leave the pages of the newspaper An Gàidheal (which I read on
the internet), here is a bit of poetry from it for you. The poem is
about the largest waterfall in North America – Niagara. Here’s how it
starts:
Great Being that created the Elements,
And settled the Universe,
With your powerful, strong arm
On [its] foundation;
Glorious is the work you did
Shaping famous Niagara, the great waterfall,
In ancient times
Have you yourself seen a great waterfall like Niagara? There are two
amazing things about such [places]. The first thing is the mist that
rises from it. It’s like smoke. Also, how drizzling rain falls on you
when you are close to the waterfall. Do you understand the word
braon? Drizzle. A useful word in Scotland!
When you would look from a distance,
On the wonderful sight,
You’d say it was a steam ship
With its smoke rising;
But, when you would come close to it
Considering it.
The white sparkling sheets of water would soak you with fine drizzle.
And there’s another special thing about big waterfalls – that’s the
noise they make. You’ll hear the roar of the waterfall at a great
distance from the waters themselves. The bard writes this:
You can hear the rumble seven miles away;
Like thunder in the heavens,
Roaring powerfully.
And, when you’d stand next to it,
It would be like the clattering,
Of a thousand vehicles [heard] on a pavement,
Rushing past.
It’s not only from North America or Scotland that the anecdotes and
writings were coming [that appeared] on the pages of An Gàidheal. They
had writers and readers in Australia also. In one edition, there is a
letter from somebody called ‘D.B’ in MacArthur. That’s near the Blue
Mountains, west of Sydney.
The letter’s writer told the readers that there were many Gaels in
Australia. ‘There’s not a town worth naming in which there is not a Gaelic
society established,’ he wrote. And some of those Gaels were reading the
international newspaper – An Gàidheal – that was in their own language.
An Gàidheal – Bàrdachd
Mus fhàg mi duilleagan a’ phàipeir-naidheachd An Gàidheal (a leugh mi air
an eadar-lìon), seo agaibh beagan bàrdachd bhuaithe. Tha an dàn mu
dheidhinn an easa as motha ann an Ameireagaidh a Tuath – Niagara. Seo mar a
tha e a’ tòiseachadh:
A Thì mhòir a chruthaich na Dùilean,
ʼS a shocraich an Cruinne,
Led ghàirdean cumhachdach, neartmhor,
Air a’ bhunait;
ʼS glòrmhor an obair a rinn thu,
Niagara ainmeil, An t-Eas mòr a rinn thu chumadh,
Anns an t-seann aimsir
Am faca sibh fhèin eas mòr mar Niagara? Tha dà rud iongantach mu a leithid.
ʼS e a’ chiad rud an ceò a bhios ag èirigh às. Tha e coltach ri toit.
Cuideachd, mar a thig braon ort nuair a tha thu faisg air an eas. A bheil
sibh a’ tuigsinn an fhacail braon? Drizzle. Facal feumail
ann an Alba!
Nuair a shealladh tu fad air astar,
Air an iongnadh,
ʼS e theireadh tu gur bàta-toite
A bh’ ann le smùidrich;
Ach, nuair thigeadh tu am fagas dha
Ghabhail do bheachd air,
Trom-fhliuchadh an cathadh caoir-gheal Le braonaibh dealt thu.
Agus tha rud sònraichte eile mu easan mòra – ʼs e sin am fuaim a tha iad a’
dèanamh. Cluinnidh sibh beucaich an easa air astar mòr bho na h-uisgeachan
fhèin. Tha am bàrd a’ sgrìobhadh seo:
Cluinnidh tu thorman seachd mìle
Uaith air astar;
Mar thàirn’each anns na speuraibh
Ri beucaich neartmhor.
ʼS nuair bhiodh tu nad sheasamh làimh ris,
B’ amhlaidh thartar,
ʼS mìle carbad air cabhsair,
Nan deann a’ dol seachad.
Chan ann a-mhàin às Aimeireagaidh a Tuath no Alba a bha na naidheachdan is
sgrìobhaidhean air duilleagan a’ Ghàidheil. Bha sgrìobhadairean is
leughadairean aca ann an Astràilia cuideachd. Ann an aon iris, tha litir
bho chuideigin air a bheil ‘D.B.’ ann am MacArtair. Tha sin faisg air na
Beanntan Gorma, siar air Sydney.
Dh’inns sgrìobhadair na litreach don luchd-leughaidh gun robh tòrr
Ghàidheal ann an Astràilia. ‘Chan eil baile as fhiach ainmeachadh nach eil
comunn Gàidhealach stèidhichte ann,’ sgrìobh e. Agus bha cuid de na
Gàidheil sin a’ leughadh a’ phàipeir-naidheachd eadar-nàiseanta– An
Gàidheal – a bha anns a’ chànan aca fhèin.
