ceasnachadh na gaoithe

by Iain S Mac a’ phearsain

ann an Sardinia
tha iad a’ ceasnachadh
na gaoithe

cò às a thà i?
an e maestrale a th’ ann?
No tè à Afraga mu thuath?

‘s mar na gaoithtean caochlaideach ud
ge b’ e dè an àirde às an tig iad
shèid thu orm

a-mach às a’ Mhidi
mar mhistral
mar sirocco chèin

gam fhàgail, an dà chuid,
cho soilleir, ciùin
ri grunnd mhare nostrum

‘s gam losgadh
mar ìobairt bhuan
na feòla beò

questioning the wind

in Sardinia
they interrogate
the wind

where’s it from?
is it a maestrale?
or a North African one?

and like those capricious winds
regardless of the point from which they come
you blew over me

from out of Midi
like a mistral
like a distant sirocco

leaving me, both,
as bright, becalmed
as the bottom of mare nostrum

and burning me
like the endless sacrifice
of living flesh