Nature

Omens II

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

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

Nature

I heard the cuckoo with no food in my stomach,
I heard the stock-dove on the top of the tree,
I heard the sweet singer in the copse beyond,
And I heard the screech of the owl of the night.

I saw the lamb with his back to me,
I saw the snail on the bare flag-stone,
I saw the foal with his rump to me,
I saw the wheatear on a dyke of holes,
I saw the snipe while sitting bent,
And I foresaw that the year would not
Go well with me.

MLA

Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic). “Omens II.” Translated by Alexander Carmichael. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-scottish-gaelic/215/.

Chicago

Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic). “Omens II.” Translated by Alexander Carmichael. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-scottish-gaelic/215/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic)