Cofio

Waldo Williams' poem "Cofio" (Remembering) as recited by Welsh-American Evan Owen

Translation by Evan Owen:

Remembering

One little moment as the sun sinks low,
One sweet moment before the evening ends,
To remember all the things from long ago,
Now lost and buried in time's shifting sands.

Like waves that break upon an empty shore,
Like song of wind where there is no ear to hear,
Forgotten ways of those who went before
Reach vainly to us, through the veil of years.

The feats and arts of all those early peoples,
Their humble dwellings, and their noble halls,
Fine-crafted fables scattered by the centuries,
Their gods whom now we do not know at all.

And little words of languages now vanished
Were once alive and danced on human tongues;
Sweet to the ear in parables of children
And songs that centuries have left unsung.

O countless generations of our planet,
Their dreams divine, their gods now gone to dust,
These hearts that once were filled with joy and sorrow,
Now, is there only silence in their rest?

So oft at evening's end, when I'm alone,
Great longing comes, and fills my heart and mind
To know ye, every one, and to remember
The old, lost ways of all of humankind.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• cofio
• Welsh
• poetry
• Waldo
• Williams

[owainmeurig]

Beth am fidio yn y Cymraeg am Tae Kwon Do, heb weld un eto.

[CantwrCymreig]

@owainmeurig

Syniad da, mae gennyf i wregys du.

[owainmeurig]

@CantwrCymreig A fi yn y TAGB.

[CantwrCymreig]

@owainmeurig

Nodyn i ddarllenwyr: TAGB = "Taekwondo Association of Great Britain," tagb-dot-biz

[adamjones416]

Mae dy ynganiad Cymraeg yn weddol dda :) Dalier ati ac adrodda rhai eraill, un o fy hoff rhai i gan Waldo ydy - Geneth Ifanc werth ei ddarllen.

Your Welsh pronounciation is fairly good :). Keep it up and why not upload some more? My favourite one by Waldo is - Geneth Ifanc, it's worth the read.

[CantwrCymreig]

@adamjones416

Diolch am eich geiriau mwyn.

Mi ddarllenais i Geneth Ifanc p'nawn 'ma -- mewn "Rhaglen Eisteddfod De Trevelin 2008" ar-lein: "(*nodyn – roedd y bardd wedi ysgrifennu`r gerdd hon ar ôl gweld sgerbwd merch ifanc o Oes yr Efydd mewn amgueddfa)"

[CantwrCymreig]

@capman911

Thanks, Mike. Pretty obscure, and I hope the translation makes it accessible; but it ties in with our love of words as HotForWords fans.

[capman911]

Excellent Evan. I hope you keep reciting poetry. Beautiful Flag.

Mike