Poems MacCarthy, Florence Denis
Poems MacCarthy, Florence Denis Poems MacCarthy, Florence Denis
76 To fight each other through the meddling schemes Of Ailill and his wily partner Mave. From each to each the missive weapons flew From dawn of early morning to mid-day; And when mid-day had come, the ire of both Became more furious, and they drew more near. Then was it that Cuchullin made a spring From the Ford's brink, and came upon the boss Of the great shield Ferdiah's arm upheld, That thus he might, above the broad shield's rim, Strike at his head. Ferdiah with a touch Of his left elbow, gave the shield a shake And cast Cuchullin from him like a bird, Back to the brink of the Ford. Again he sprang From the Ford's brink, and came upon the boss Of the great shield once more, to strike his head Over the rim. Ferdiah with a stroke Of his left knee made the great shield to ring, And cast Cuchullin back upon the brink, As if he only were a little child. Laegh saw the act. "Alas! indeed," said Laegh, "The warrior casts thee from him in the way That an abandoned woman would her child. He flings thee as a river flings its foam; He grinds thee as a mill would grind fresh malt; He fells thee as the axe does fell the oak; He binds thee as the woodbine binds the tree; He darts upon thee as a hawk doth dart Upon small birds, so that from this hour forth Until the end of time, thou hast no claim Or title to be called a valorous man: Thou little puny phantom form," said Laegh. Then with the rapid motion of the wind, The fleetness of a swallow on the wing, The fierceness of a dragon, and the strength Of a roused lion, once again up sprang Cuchullin, high into the troubled air, And lighted for the third time on the boss Of the broad shield, to strike Ferdiah's head Over the rim. The warrior shook the shield, And cast Cuchullin mid-way in the Ford,
77 With such an easy effort that it seemed As if he scarcely deigned to shake him off. Then, as he lay, a strange distortion came Upon Cuchullin; as a bladder swells Inflated by the breath, to such a size And fulness did he grow, that he became A fearful, many-coloured, wondrous Tuaig-- Gigantic shape, as big as a man of the sea, Or monstrous Fomor, so that now his form In perfect height over Ferdiah stood. So close the fight was now, that their heads met Above, their feet below, their arms half-way Over the rims and bosses of their shields:-- So close the fight was now, that from their rims Unto their centres were their shields cut through, And loosed was every rivet from its hold; So close the fight was now, that their strong spears Were turned and bent and shivered point and haft; Such was the closeness of the fight they made That the invisible and unearthly hosts Of Spirits, Bocanachs and Bananachs, And the wild wizard people of the glen And of the air the demons, shrieked and screamed From their broad shields' reverberating rim, From their sword-hilts and their long-shafted spears: Such was the closeness of the fight they made, They forced the river from its natural course, Out of its bed, so that it might have been A couch whereon a king or queen might lie, For not a drop of water it retained, Except what came from the great tramp and splash Of the two heroes fighting in its midst. Such was the fierceness of the fight they waged, That a wild fury seized upon the steeds The Gaels had gathered with them; in affright They burst their traces and their binding ropes, Nay even their chains, and panting fled away. The women, too, and youths, by equal fears Inspired and scared, and all the varied crowd
- Page 25 and 26: 25 Heart-enchanting, Cythna, Genevi
- Page 27 and 28: 27 When I have knelt in the temple
- Page 29 and 30: 29 On the wing of the spring, comes
- Page 31 and 32: 31 Long as a Lapland winter, which
- Page 33 and 34: 33 My own dear isle! LOVE'S LANGUAG
- Page 35 and 36: 35 How poor or great may be my fate
- Page 37 and 38: 37 Truth, forget the constant beami
- Page 39 and 40: 39 Oh! none was to rival the prince
- Page 41 and 42: 41 At my window, late and early, In
- Page 43 and 44: 43 In fragrant sighs its heart reve
- Page 45 and 46: 45 For the summer is always there!
- Page 47 and 48: 47 The dread expanding force of the
- Page 49 and 50: 49 the agile spring so swift and li
- Page 51 and 52: 51 Though Domnal[42] it should be,
- Page 53 and 54: 53 Who hitherto have come to fight
- Page 55 and 56: 55 CUCHULLIN. If Conor's royal stre
- Page 57 and 58: 57 Unto the chariot, and he rode fu
- Page 59 and 60: 59 Last year it was in a vision of
- Page 61 and 62: 61 "Glad am I, O Cuchullin, thou ha
- Page 63 and 64: 63 Thence impetuous wilt thou grow,
- Page 65 and 66: 65 No, the great prize shall not by
- Page 67 and 68: 67 Like bees upon the wing on a fin
- Page 69 and 70: 69 And then they braced their two b
- Page 71 and 72: 71 And thus betwixt the twain this
- Page 73 and 74: 73 To fight the fight where my frie
- Page 75: 75 All these on me in turn shall so
- Page 79 and 80: 79 As a huge mill-stone, cracking i
- Page 81 and 82: 81 He to have died and thou to have
- Page 83 and 84: 83 Ah! hapless deed, that still my
- Page 85 and 86: 85 First on the shore, as swift our
- Page 87 and 88: 87 The wave that swallows up the sh
- Page 89 and 90: 89 38. "The plains of Aie" (son of
- Page 91 and 92: 91 This, which it is to be presumed
- Page 93 and 94: 93 Like hooded monks before a dazzl
- Page 95 and 96: 95 I sought the rocky eastern isle,
- Page 97 and 98: 97 At length the long-expected morn
- Page 99 and 100: 99 Hail, spotless Virgin! mildest,
- Page 101 and 102: 101 Knowledge he tracked through ma
- Page 103 and 104: 103 But holding marble basilics and
- Page 105 and 106: 105 Her cold hands chilled the boso
- Page 107 and 108: 107 Bright, even as bright as those
- Page 109 and 110: 109 Rise up to God like morn and ev
- Page 111 and 112: 111 There never falls the rain-clou
- Page 113 and 114: 113 would be always visited and pro
- Page 115 and 116: 115 Sweetly the rising moonbeams pl
- Page 117 and 118: 117 To Desmond of the flowing strea
- Page 119 and 120: 119 If beauty decks with peerless c
- Page 121 and 122: 121 When all who live on Irish grou
- Page 123 and 124: 123 Thus rushed upon the doomed Mac
- Page 125 and 126: 125 Hangs the long leash that binds
76<br />
To fight each other through the meddling schemes<br />
Of Ailill and his wily partner Mave.<br />
From each to each the missive weapons flew<br />
From dawn of early morning to mid-day;<br />
And when mid-day had come, the ire of both<br />
Became more furious, and they drew more near.<br />
Then was it that Cuchullin made a spring<br />
From the Ford's brink, and came upon the boss<br />
Of the great shield Ferdiah's arm upheld,<br />
That thus he might, above the broad shield's rim,<br />
Strike at his head. Ferdiah with a touch<br />
Of his left elbow, gave the shield a shake<br />
And cast Cuchullin from him like a bird,<br />
Back to the brink of the Ford. Again he sprang<br />
From the Ford's brink, and came upon the boss<br />
Of the great shield once more, to strike his head<br />
Over the rim. Ferdiah with a stroke<br />
Of his left knee made the great shield to ring,<br />
And cast Cuchullin back upon the brink,<br />
As if he only were a little child.<br />
Laegh saw the act. "Alas! indeed," said Laegh,<br />
"The warrior casts thee from him in the way<br />
That an abandoned woman would her child.<br />
He flings thee as a river flings its foam;<br />
He grinds thee as a mill would grind fresh malt;<br />
He fells thee as the axe does fell the oak;<br />
He binds thee as the woodbine binds the tree;<br />
He darts upon thee as a hawk doth dart<br />
Upon small birds, so that from this hour forth<br />
Until the end of time, thou hast no claim<br />
Or title to be called a valorous man:<br />
Thou little puny phantom form," said Laegh.<br />
Then with the rapid motion of the wind,<br />
The fleetness of a swallow on the wing,<br />
The fierceness of a dragon, and the strength<br />
Of a roused lion, once again up sprang<br />
Cuchullin, high into the troubled air,<br />
And lighted for the third time on the boss<br />
Of the broad shield, to strike Ferdiah's head<br />
Over the rim. The warrior shook the shield,<br />
And cast Cuchullin mid-way in the Ford,