Song of Amergin

Song of Amergin is an ancient Celtic calendar-alphabet, found in several purposely garbled Irish and Welsh variants, which briefly summarizes the prime poetic myth.

I am a stag:of seven tines,
I am a flood:across a plain,
I am a wind:on a deep lake,
I am a tear:the Sun lets fall,
I am a hawk:above the cliff,
I am a thorn:beneath the nail,
I am a wonder:among flowers,
I am a wizard:who but I
Sets the cool head aflame with smoke?

I am a spear:that roars for blood,
I am a salmon:in a pool,
I am a lure:from paradise,
I am a hill:where poets walk,
I am a boar:ruthless and red,
I am a breaker:threatening doom,
I am a tide:that drags to death,
I am an infant:who but I
Peeps from the unhewn dolmen, arch?

I am the womb:of every holt,
I am the blaze:on every hill,
I am the queen:of every hive,
I am the shield:for every head,
I am the tomb:of every hope.

(tr. Robert Graves, The White Goddess, Faber and Faber Limited)

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