Mythology & Folklore

The Yarrow I

by Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic) traditional; collected in the Highlands and Islands 1855–1899

Translated by Alexander Carmichael (1900) · From Carmina Gadelica, vol. II (1900): Incantations

Mythology & Folklore

I will pluck the yarrow fair.
That more benign shall be my face,
That more warm shall be my lips,
That more chaste shall be my speech,
Be my speech the beams of the sun.
Be my lips the sap of the strawberry.

May I be an isle in the sea.
May I be a hill on the shore.
May I be a star in the dark time,
May I be a staff to the weak,
Wound can I every man.
Wound can no man me.

MLA

Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic). “The Yarrow I.” Translated by Alexander Carmichael. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-scottish-gaelic/172/.

Chicago

Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic). “The Yarrow I.” Translated by Alexander Carmichael. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-scottish-gaelic/172/.

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