War hedd wyn Poem`s

Hedd Wyns poem War

Original Welsh

Gwae fi fy myw mewn oes mor ddreng,

   A Duw ar drai ar orwel pell;

O'i ôl mae dyn, yn deyrn a gwreng,

   Yn codi ei awdurdod hell.

Pan deimlodd fyned ymaith Dduw

   Cyfododd gledd i ladd ei frawd;

Mae sŵn yr ymladd ar ein clyw,

   A'i gysgod ar fythynnod tlawd.

Mae'r hen delynau genid gynt

   Ynghrog ar gangau'r helyg draw,

A gwaedd y bechgyn lond y gwynt,

   A'u gwaed yn gymysg efo'r glaw.

Woe is me that I live in an age so boorish*,

   And God at ebb on a distant horizon;

After him, man, (both) lord and commoner,

    Raising his ugly authority.

When he felt God's going away

   He raised a sword to kill his brother;

The sound of battle is on our ear,

   And its shadow on poor cottages.

The old harps that were played before are

   Suspended on the branches of yonder willows,

And the scream of the boys filling the wind,

   And their blood mixed with the rain.

Black Boy Inn, Northgate Street, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1RW   Tel 01286 673604

Alas, this is an age so mean

  That everyman is made a Lord,

  For all authority's absurd

When God himself fades from the scene.

As quick as God is shown the door

  Out come the cannons and the sword:

  Hate on hate on brother poured

And scored the deepest on the poor.

The harps that once could help our pain

  Hang silent, to the willows pinned.

  The cry of battle fills the wind

And blood of lads--it falls like rain.

War
By Hedd Wyn (Ellis Evans)
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Click here to hear me recite the Welsh

Woe that I live in bitter days,
As God is setting like a sun
And in his place, as lord and slave,
Man raises forth his heinous throne.

When he thought God was gone at last
He put his brother to the sword.
Now death is roaring in our ears,
Shadowing the shanties of the poor.

The old and silenced harps are hung
On yonder willow trees again.
The bawl of boys is on the wind.
Their blood is blended in the rain.


The Original: 


Rhyfel

Gwae fi fy myw mewn oes mor ddreng
A Duw ar drai ar orwel pell;
O'i ôl mae dyn, yn deyrn a gwreng,
Yn codi ei awdurdod hell.

Pan deimlodd fyned ymaith Dduw
Cyfododd gledd i ladd ei frawd;
Mae swn yr ymladd ar ein clyw,
A'i gysgod ar fythynnod tlawd.

Mae'r hen delynau genid gynt
Ynghrog ar gangau'r helyg draw

Black Boy Inn, Northgate Street, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1RW   Tel 01286 673604