Crith-Thalmhainn
Tha cian nan cian a-nis bho thàinig
gainneamh a Sahàra a Ghlaschu,
is tha creagan Leòdhais tòrr nas sine
na Tursachan Chalanais,
ach fhathast, chan eil sinn air ar glasadh
ri mointeach is cladach,
no ann an taighean-prìosain
nam bailtean:
’s tha crith-thalmhainn
gar sgapadh
gu rannan-ruadha an t-saoghail mhòir
’s ar cainnt ’s ar dualchas gar leantainn.
Translations of this Poem
Earthquake
Translator: Ruaraidh MacThòmais
Derick Thomson
It was many years ago
that the sand of the Sahara reached Glasgow,
and the Lewis rocks are much older
than the Callanish Giants,
but still we are not confined
to moor and seashore,
nor to the prisons
of the cities:
and an earthquake
scatters us
to the far edges of the great world,
with our language and our tradition going with us.
About this poem
This poem is selected as part of National Poetry Day 2018, the theme of which is ‘change’.
Learning Resources
Earthquake / Crith-Thalmhainn Teaching Notes
Our learning resources for Earthquake, one of the National Poetry Day 2018 poems.
Learn more
Crith-Thalmhainn
This poem was selected for National Poetry Day 2018, on the theme of 'change'.Chaidh an dàn seo a thaghadh airson Là Nàiseanta na Bàrdachd an 2018, air an robh ‘atharrachadh’ mar chuspair.
Ruaraidh MacThòmais
Derick Thomson
No Gaelic poet has had more influence on the generation that followed him than Derick Thomson. As poet, publisher, and editor of the literary quarterly Gairm, Thomson shaped the development of Gaelic writing in the post-war period.Derick Thomson
