The Battle Hymn of Amergin
translated from the Old Irish by Paul Muldoon
I am a sea squall coming out of nowhere
I am a rogue wave wrecking the joint
I am the surf that breaks with surf-bellows and -blares
I am a stag of seven sticking points
I am a dewdrop clasping the sun in its orb
I am a falcon hang-gliding over the cliff
I am the heartiest of healing herbs
I am a boar that is still battle-stiff
I am a salmon in a plunge pool
I am a lake bringing things to a new level
I am unparalleled not only in poetry school
but the crafts in which others are thought to revel
I am a spear that booty-blazes
I am the god who starts a fire in the head
I am the one who sheds
light on those who rally round a stone-capped tomb
The one who shows the moon’s phases
Who knows why the sun no longer works the room
The Song of Amergin
Ic tabairt a choisse dessi i nHerind asbert Amairgen Glúngel mac Miled in laídseo sís.
1. Am gáeth i mmuir. ar domni.
2. Am tond trethan i tír.
3. Am fúaim mara.
4. Am dam secht ndírend.
5. Am séig i n-aill.
6. Am dér gréne.
7. Am caín lubai.
8. Am torc ar gail.
9. Am hé i llind.
10. Am loch i mmaig
11. Am briandai.
12. Am bri danae.
13. Am gai i fodb. feras feochtu.
14. Am dé delbas do chind codnu.
15. Coiche nod gleith clochur slébe.
16. Cia on cotagair aesa éscai
17. Cia dú i llaig funiud grene.
Copyright © 2026 by Amergin Glúingel, translated by Paul Muldoon. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 29, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.
“This is a poem ascribed to a mythological figure, Amergin, a poet associated with a group known as the Milesians—almost certainly from Spain—as they make landfall on Ireland. The original is written in Old Irish, is anonymous, and is included in the eleventh-century Lebor Gabála Érenn, The Book of Invasions of Ireland.”
—Paul Muldoon
Amergin Glúingel
