Liam S. Gogan

Na Coisithe

I gcoim na hoíche cloisim iad
na coisithe ar siúl,
Airím iad, ní fheicim iad,
Ní fios cá bhfuil a gcuaird.

I gcoim na hoíche dorcha
Is an uile ní i suan,
Airím teacht na gcoisithe
I lár an bhaile chiúin

An daoine iad nach sona dóibh,
Nó anamna i bponc
Nach aoibhinn dóibh an t-ionad san,
I gcónaíd go buan.

I gcoim na hoíche dorcha,
Is cách ina chodladh suain,
Is ea a chloisim-se na coisithe,
Ag teacht is ag imeacht uaim.

The Walkers

In dead of night I hear them,
The walkers on the road,
And I sense them without seeing
And I know not where they go.

In the night's deep darkness
While all the world's asleep,
I hear the walkers' footsteps
In the quiet of our street.

Are these walkers so unhappy?
Are they souls long passed away?
Do they find, alas, no pleasure
In the place they now must stay?

In the deep night's darkness,
While all the rest in slumber lie,
I hear footsteps of the walkers
In our street as they pass by.

(D.Ó hAirt trans. from the Irish of Liam Gogan)