O Bell/From Afar

O Bell
gan Culhwch
(Wayne Harbert)

Y gerdd fuddugol yn nghystadleuaeth Gadair Cymdeithas Madog, Cwrs Cymraeg Iowa, 1997

Cyfieithiad Saesneg

English Translation

Nol I Dudalen Gartref Cystadleuaeth Y Gadair

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Rwy'n gweld o bell - ond yn glirach serch y pellter -
â llygad craff y cof, yr hen fro bêr,
lle chwaraewn yn llon ymhlith y mochod coed,
hogyn dan binwydd, yn ddeuddeng mlwyd oed,

a lle, gyda'r nos, eisteddwn efo Nain
a syllwn ar ei hwyneb crychog, gwenog, cain
- ei rychau fel map, a mwy na henaint yddyn -,
yn ei chegin glyd hi, wrth fwyta bara 'menyn.

Ymwelwn â'r lle yn bur anaml wedyn,
a bob tro byddwn innau, ond nid hithau, yn hyn,
a byddai'r dref yn fyw, a byddai'r coed yn llai,
ond digyfnewid oedd y gegin lle eisteddai.

Mil naw wyth wyth bu farw Nain, heb hir ddioddef,
wedi i'r coed gilio o flaen blerdwf y dref.
A'r hogyn? Bellach gallaf ei weld yn well
na chynt, ond O! mae o mor bell!

From Afar
gan Culhwch
(Wayne Harbert)

The winning poem in the Cymdeithas Madog chair competition, Cwrs Cymraeg Iowa, 1997

Translation by John Otley

Cerdd Wreiddiol (Yn Y Gymraeg)

Original Poem (In Welsh)

Nol I Dudalen Cartref Cystadleuaeth Y Gadair

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I see from afar - but clearer despite the distance -,
with the observant eyes of memory, the sweet, old valley,
where I'd happily play among the pine cones,
a boy under pines, 12 years old.

And where, at night, I'd sit with Grandma,
and gaze at her elegant, smiling, wrinkled face,
its furrows like a map, more than old age in them,
in her cosy kitchen, while eating bread and butter.

I'd visit the place fairly infrequently after that,
and each time I would be, but not her, older,
and the town would be bigger, and the woods smaller,
but the kitchen where she'd sit would be unchangeable.

1988, Grandma died, without suffering long,
after the woods retreated before the urban sprawl of the town.
And the boy? Now I can see him better
Than before, but oh, he is so far!

Draig Cymdeithas Madog

© Cymdeithas Madog
27 Awst/August 2000

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Barddoniaeth/Poetry


*O Bell* gan Culhwch (Wayne Harbert) Y gerdd fuddugol yn nghystadleuaeth Gadair Cymdeithas Madog, Cwrs Cymraeg Iowa, 1997 Cyfieithiad Saesneg English Translation Nol I Dudalen Gartref Cystadleuaeth Y Gadair Back To The Chair Competition Home Page		Rwy'n gweld o bell - ond yn glirach serch y pellter - â llygad craff y cof, yr hen fro bêr, lle chwaraewn yn llon ymhlith y mochod coed, hogyn dan binwydd, yn ddeuddeng mlwyd oed, a lle, gyda'r nos, eisteddwn efo Nain a syllwn ar ei hwyneb crychog, gwenog, cain - ei rychau fel map, a mwy na henaint yddyn -, yn ei chegin glyd hi, wrth fwyta bara 'menyn. Ymwelwn â'r lle yn bur anaml wedyn, a bob tro byddwn innau, ond nid hithau, yn hyn, a byddai'r dref yn fyw, a byddai'r coed yn llai, ond digyfnewid oedd y gegin lle eisteddai. Mil naw wyth wyth bu farw Nain, heb hir ddioddef, wedi i'r coed gilio o flaen blerdwf y dref. A'r hogyn? Bellach gallaf ei weld yn well na chynt, ond O! mae o mor bell!

*From Afar* gan Culhwch (Wayne Harbert) The winning poem in the Cymdeithas Madog chair competition, Cwrs Cymraeg Iowa, 1997 Translation by John Otley Cerdd Wreiddiol (Yn Y Gymraeg) Original Poem (In Welsh) Nol I Dudalen Cartref Cystadleuaeth Y Gadair Back To The Chair Competition Home Page		I see from afar - but clearer despite the distance -, with the observant eyes of memory, the sweet, old valley, where I'd happily play among the pine cones, a boy under pines, 12 years old. And where, at night, I'd sit with Grandma, and gaze at her elegant, smiling, wrinkled face, its furrows like a map, more than old age in them, in her cosy kitchen, while eating bread and butter. I'd visit the place fairly infrequently after that, and each time I would be, but not her, older, and the town would be bigger, and the woods smaller, but the kitchen where she'd sit would be unchangeable. 1988, Grandma died, without suffering long, after the woods retreated before the urban sprawl of the town. And the boy? Now I can see him better Than before, but oh, he is so far!
© Cymdeithas Madog 27 Awst/August 2000 Problems or comments? Contact the webmaster