Ní athraíonn aon rud. Níl ann ach gur cosúil go ndeineann

Cuisle shocair d’anála

Amhail rithim thitim an tsneachta

Sis sis sis

Tá sé damanta te Do lár Dheireadh Fómhair

Sis sis sis

Níl aon séasúir ann

Tá d’anáil

Sis sis sis

Báite

Sna duilleoga leathlofa

Sis sis sis

Ní athraíonn aon rud

Níl ann ach gur cosúil go ndeineann

Sis sis sis

Doris Kareva

Doris Kareva is one of Estonia’s leading poets. She has worked for the cultural weekly Sirp (Sickle) and as the SecretaryGeneral of the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO from 1992 to 2008, and is currently an editor for the literary journal Looming (Creation).

Following the restoration of Estonian independence, Kareva’s collection In Place of the World received the national cultural prize in 1993. She used the prize money to set up the ‘Straw Stipend’ for the publication of debut collections. Kareva has published 15 collections of poetry, a collection of essays and a work of prose. She has also translated poetry and plays, essays and prose. She has compiled anthologies, written texts for music and theatre, and given lectures on culture, education and ethics in Estonia and abroad. Her poetry has been translated into over 20 languages and has inspired composers and directors in Estonia and abroad. Kareva has been honoured with two national cultural prizes and four literary prizes; in 2001 she was awarded the Estonian Order of the White Star.

From Days of Grace (Bloodaxe Books, 2018)

Translated from Estonian by Miriam McIlfatrick-Ksenofontov

Arna aistriú ón Eastóinis ag Colm Breathnach

Reproduced by kind permission of the author and publisher