The Bodach sleeps
Snoring lightly by
Barefaced flames flickering
Filling up all
Afull of warmth
Warping our sight
Singing us down
Deep into sleep
Snoring lightly there
There’s the Bodach

Breath of air
The roaring wave
Trickling, fizzing foam
Between cold toes
Stinging salts burn
Encrusting rocks all
Over even metal
Raging, fighting, warring
Dancing, singing, exulting
Grieving, mourning, crying
That’s the sea
That is me

The sun shines
Above the sea
Swiftly swaying, bobbing
World of motion
Why not us
We people too

The sun shines
Above the sea
We little people
Some in skirts
Others choosing beards
And some both

The sun shines
Above the sea
You looking on
Covering us lovingly
Embraced in mist
Like your children

Manannán I feel you and I wonder,
did you teach your boy to ride the waves?
Did you show him to cut foam
with elegant prow, strong and firm?

Manannán I see you and I feel
there you are, old uncle with cap and pipe,
and there is your boy
cutting the spray on a board,
just board alone.

Waves, they crash and fall,
but also sway and bob.
That rhythm burned me,
deep and thorough.
I feel it on the bus
rolling along, all stop and go,
and I ache and yearn
for the sea spray that I can smell,
though it is not there.