For The Birds of Rhiannon at The Dark of the Moon in November

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‘dyuot tri aderyn, a dechrau canu udunt  ….. uch ben y weilgi allan’ (*)
Branwen Uerch Lyr

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Birds of Rhiannon, sing for the dying
Over the waves of the wolf-grey sea;
Gather them with you, those who are leaving
Behind them the world’s sweet harmony.

Birds of Rhiannon, call to the dead
Over the waves of the wolf-grey sea;
Bid them witness the echoes fading
Out of the world’s sweet harmony.

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(*) ‘three birds came and began singing to them ….. far out over the sea’.

The word for ‘sea’ here is ‘[g]weilgi’. Gweilgi indicates a ‘howling wolf’ and is often used in medieval Welsh texts, rather than ‘môr’ to mean ‘sea’.  The 20th century Welsh poet Gwenallt used the words ‘y weilgi werdd‘ (‘the green sea’) to write of ‘Adar Rhiannon‘ and his poem has influenced the shape of the above verses.

Author: Greg Hill

Awenydd/Poet, Cultural Critic View all posts by Greg Hill