Geryow Kernewek
Fatel ytho yllyn-ny gul defnyth
A’gan geryow fol ha whek,
Geryow kerys ha nygromansek,
Geryow gothyk, nep a bon a ves genen-ny?
Syns avan an gweder dh’agan tybyans
’Wheth warnodho, segh-ef glan;
Gesyn dhyn-ny dalleth arta.
Martesen, bledhen war bledhen,
Os arta os, ny a vyth cafos
Worteweth an styr gwyr kellys –
Nag yu yn agan lynow bardhonnek
Mes ynter an lynow-na,
Goskesek, ow hyntya a substans,
Kekemys ny a wayt sygnfya.
Translations of this Poem
Cornish Words
Translator: Tim Saunders
How then can we use
Our foolish fond words,
Beloved and enchanted words,
Wild words which run away with us?
Hold up the mirror to our thoughts,
Breathe on it, wipe it clean:
Let us begin again.
Perhaps, year after year,
Age after age, we shall find
At last the true lost meaning
Not in our bardic lines,
But between those lines,
Shadowed, hinting at the essence,
Something of what we hope to signify.
About this poem
This is one of the poems chosen for National Poetry Day 2019 on the theme of ‘truth’. With support from the Forward Arts Foundation/National Poetry Day.
