A Poem by / Cerdd gan James McConachie

Translated by / Cyfieithwyd gan Siân Melangell Dafydd

Cusp of the Last Cold Moon

Digging in cowshit, tired after
the trip over the mountains
from the delta, the striped 
sleeping vines at sunrise on 
the plateau, that stretch of road 
where I always slow, where the 
barrel of a boar would up and wreck the car.

A scrabble-handed lunch 
off the end of a knife
under the great cervera.
Olivas muertas, dry salchichón,
three tragos of country wine 
and the wind racing the 
hail-harrowed clouds over the big field.

Bright blue, and a bloom of
water-thin sun is walked up the 
track to the smile on my face.
This fine day of such seen things
under the wild, high light. At dusk,
bats fit their folds to the eaves,
musk of almond blossom honey on the breeze.




Cervera – a True Service tree.
Olivas muertas – black olives cured by freezing out in the open.
Salchichón – a dry cured sausage
Tragos – swallows, as in ‘to swallow’

Pen pella’r Lleuad Oer Olaf

Cloddio mewn tail gwartheg, wedi ymlâdd ’rôl
taith dros y mynyddoedd
o'r delta, y gwinwydd streipiog
yn cysgu ar godiad haul ar 
y llwyfandir, y rhipyn ffordd hwnnw 
lle byddaf bob amser yn arafu, lle 
byddai casgen bol baedd yn ymddangos a chwalu’r car.

Cinio llaw-scrabble
o ben arall cyllell
dan y cervera enfawr.
Olivas muertas, salchichón sych,
tri tragos o win cefn gwlad
a'r gwynt yn rasio 
cymylau cenllysg dros y cae mawr.

Glas llachar, a blodeuo’r
haul dŵr-dennau yn draed mân
i fyny’r lôn at wên fy wyneb. 
Y diwrnod braf hwn o bethau’n cael eu tystio
o dan y golau gwyllt, uchel. Yn y cyfnos, 
ystlumod yn ffitio’u plygiadau i'r bondo, 
a mwsg mêl blodau almon ar yr awel.


Cervera – Coeden a elwir yn ‘true service’ i’w gwahaniaethu oddi wrth goeden ‘wild service tree’
Olivas muertas – olewydd du wedi eu cwrio drwy eu rhewi yn yr awyr agored.
Salchichón – selsig wedi cwrio’n sych  
Tragos – llynciadau

James McConachie’s poetry has appeared in Iambapoet, Black Bough, Eat the Storms, and his essays and short stories, have been published by the Dark Mountain Project and Pilgrim House magazine. His debut collection from Black Bough will be published in 2024. He has been nominated for the Pushcart and BOTN.