"English poetic education should, really, begin not with Canterbury Tales, not with the Odyssey, not

even with Genesis, but with the Song of Amergin." - Robert Graves

It is true that Lady Gregory's translation of the Song of Amergin, provided to us by Cyrus, is probably
the most common version and the most widely accepted. Unfortunately, while technically accurate,
her version of this beautiful lay is perhaps too literal, and leaves out many of the verse's subtleties of
imagery and of meaning.

Because the original verse expressed itself largely through kennings (poetical metaphors or idioms),
there is quite a bit of room for interpretation. While we can conjecture on the meaning of these
devices, it is likely that there are hidden meanings which we cannot fully understand. Below follows
the original Celtic text, with literal and poetic translations of each line, and some ideas as to their
deeper meaning.

It is important to keep in mind throughout the reading of this verse that, while Amergin refers to
himself in each line, he is only referring to himself as an individual in the most superficial sense. He is
really emphasizing his role, that of poet and bard, and even beyond that, the poet in each of us. The
non-rational, inspirational being in us, the part where spontaneous creation of ideas from nothing
takes place, the voice of the god in everyone that makes us human.

Am gaeth i nmuiv | I am wind on the sea      | I am the wind that blows over the Sea
Am tond trethan  | I am an ocean wave        | I am the Wave of the Ocean
Am fuaim mara    | I am the roar of the sea  | I am the thundering Roar of the Deep

This first triad of lines dwells on the ocean. The ocean was obviously an integral part of life for the
Milesians, and had been for the entire life of their people. They sailed from land to land, and
wandered on the sea for years. The sea brought them to their home in Iberia, and most importantly,
to their true home of Ireland. By these lines, Amergin is saying that it is the poet that brought them
to Ireland. The wind on the sea and the waves of the ocean are what physically moved their ships.
The roar of the deep is the sea's voice, the inspiration for the journey. The poet's calling.

Am dam secht     | I am the bull of seven    | I am the Bull of seven battles

ndirend          | battles                   |

Amergin switches now to animal metaphors, as they convey a greater sense of life, vitality and
immediacy than the vast, immortal ocean. The bull or ox is a symbol of the male aspect of creation,
it gives the seed which the fertile female receives and uses to make new life. It is also a symbol of
stamina and endurance, which is strengthened further by seven battles. This is used to show trials
which have been endured by the poet and his people, through which they have emerged victorious.
The poet suffers, the poet endures, the poet triumphs.

Am seig i naill  | I am a bird of prey on    | I am a Hawk upon the cliffside

                 | the rocks                 |

The bird of prey, sometimes translated as hawk, eagle or vulture, waits and watches. The image is of
the bird on the rocks, looking out over the ocean, patiently waiting for an opportunity. This refers
partially to Ith's original vision of Ireland from a tower overlooking the sea. Here, Amergin speaks
again of inspiration, claiming it as the source of their journey: Inspiration brought us here. The poet
waits, the poet watches for inspiration every moment, and when it reveals itself, the poet swoops
down upon it swiftly before it escapes.

Am der greine    | I am a drop of the sun    | I am a Tear the sun lets fall
The sun is also a giver of life. It gives life by giving light, by enlightening. The sun reveals things that
would otherwise remain cloaked in darkness. So also does the poet. The poetic side of us sees things
that the practical side does not, it finds beauty in the most mundane and common objects and
events. This line is about vision. It tells us to listen to the poet in us, as it will show us things we
would never see otherwise. The poet sees, the poet reveals, the poet enlightens.

Am cain luboi    | I am a law of union       | I am a Flower among a sea of grass

This is an interesting line. Taken literally, it is quite incongruous and makes very little sense.
However, linguistics suggest double meanings for the words chosen here, and imply connections
with plants. This is strengthened by the previous line about a drop of the sun, which uses elements
of both water and light, the two primary things plants need to live. The literal translation stresses
the poet's role of unifying his people, inspiring them all to believe in a shared vision. At the same
time, the idiomatic translation of a flower among plants stresses individuality and sameness
simultaneously. A flower is a plant, and in that sense connected or related to the plants and grasses
around it, but yet it is still different and unique. Here, Amergin means to convey that, while we all
have traits which set us apart, we are all the same on some level. The poet lives in each of us.

Am torc ar gail  | I am a wild boar in valor | I am a Wild Boar in valor

The wild boar is the quintessential Irish symbol of life and raw power. Hunting deer was a sport, but
hunting wild boar was a trial, a battle from which you were not guaranteed to return. The boar was
dangerous not only because of its size and strength, but because of its sheer unpredictability. A boar
which fled into the underbrush one moment might turn and charge you the next. This
unpredictability was part of the poetic spirit as well. When inspiration strikes, there is no way of
knowing what form it will take, or how it will manifest itself. The poet must recognize inspiration and
utilize it.

Am he i llind    | I am a salmon in water    | I am a Salmon in the deep river

In the Irish folk tradition, the salmon represented wisdom and knowledge. Finn mac Cumhail ate of a
salmon to gain his gift of foresight and prophesy. The salmon also bore the connotation of great age
and ancient connections, as in the story of Tuan mac Cairill, who survived from Partholonian to
Christian times by reincarnating into many forms, the last of which was a salmon. The implication in
this line is not simply that the poet or bard himself was wise in his own right, but more that he was
wise because of his connection to ancient wisdom and knowledge, passed down among bards from
generation to generation. The poet's relationship to this communal well of knowledge is what made
him wise. As people, we must ensure that the poet in each of us maintains this connection. The poet
brings the past into the present.

Am loch i nmaig  | I am a lake in the plain  | I am a Lake in the emerald plain

This line complements the previous. While it is important to compile and remember ancient
knowledge, it is equally important to continue acquiring new knowledge, making new observations,
learning new things. A lake is a repository into which water flows from many sources. Rivers,
streams, rain, all of these contribute to the whole of the lake. This communal pool of knowledge
then nourishes a diverse community of life. So must the poet remain open to all sources of
inspiration and learning, that he or she may share them with others, nourishing them and helping
them to grow. The poet brings the present into the future.

Am bri a ndai    | I am the word of man      | I am the Craft of the artisan

The words "the word of man" in this line are sometimes interpreted as "the strength of art" or "the
work of the artist". Regardless, what Amergin is saying here is that poetry isn't just about words. If
you are a sculptor, or a weaponsmith, or a vintner, what you create, be it statues, swords or wine, is
your own poetry, your own means of expression. We are all poets, we all have creative visions inside
of us, we simply realize them in our own ways. The poet speaks through all of us in our own unique
language.

Am bri danai     | I am the word of creation | I am the Voice of science

When considering this line, it is important to remember that in this point in prehistory, science was
still in its infancy. It was about simple machines, wheels, gears, screws, planes, levers. The forces
which governed these devices were not understood. People knew they worked, but they really
didn't know why. As such, science was a lot more mysterious and, in a sense, godlike. In fact, the
word "danai" is very close to "Danu", the name of the Celtic mother goddess. Those who had some
grasp of the forces at work, who understood them enough to find ways to apply them, were
considered to be divinely inspired. Here, Amergin says that this, too, is the work of the poet, that
even science is a kind of poetry. Most of the true great leaps in science are a result of inspiration
rather than deduction, and as Amergin has already shown us, inspiration is the demesne of the poet
in us. Respect the poet; the poet creates something from nothing.

Am gai i fodb    | I am the point of a spear | I am a Spear-point in the fury of battle

feras feochtu    | in battle                 |

Poetry can be a weapon. As the cliché states, "the pen is mightier than the sword". In Celtic society,
history was preserved orally. And as events both current and historical have taught us, a person is
often remembered more for his or her one big blunder than for any number of great deeds. Bardic
satire was one of the most feared weapons in these times. A moment of fear in battle could have
someone remembered forever as a coward, no matter how many other battles he had won. In this
sense, the pen clearly does outmatch the sword, one satirized failure outweighing a dozen hard-
fought victories. Respect the poet; the poet creates nothing from something.

Am De delbas do  | I am the God who makes    | I am the God that kindles the fire of
chind codnu      | fire in the mind          | thought in the minds of men

This line brings closure, binding together the rest of the ideas that have been presented. The poet is
a god not in the individual sense, but in a communal sense. Poetry is divine, it is inspiration, the
creation of original thought from nothing, and it speaks to each of us in its own way. It kindles the
fire of thought in our minds. In today's world, we speak of AI as Artificial Intelligence, computers that
can learn. While this is being achieved, there is no talk of AI as Artificial Inspiration, computers that
can make the divine leap from nothing to something. A computer can compose a poem, but no
computer can create poetry. This is what sets us apart from everything else in our world - not
technology and deduction, but poetry and inspiration.

In Lady Gregory's translation, the first line is "Who spreads light in the gathering on the hills?" Other
translations express it as "Who knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen, if not I?" These are two
very different lines, and they puzzled me until I came upon the translation "Who clears the stone-
place of the mountain, if not I?" This version makes a connection, and basically asks what makes
men gather on the hills to create the dolmens, if not poetic inspiration? This gives poetry a
connection to religion as well, as dolmens were the ritual-places of the druids, the standing stones
still seen across Ireland. What made the first druids think to erect these dolmens? Amergin suggests
that it was their own inner poet, that religion is an expression of the same divine inspiration that
creates song and art in our minds.

The next line is most often translated as "Who can tell the ages of the moon, if not I?" This is a clear
reference to the bard's role as historian and preserver. Today we have written records of everything,
and we don't need to rely on the oral preservation of history. However, the Celts would not begin to
employ the written word for well over 1500 years after Amergin's landing. The ability to craft more
memorable tales and verses from dry accounts and facts is truly an art, and one which requires
poetic inspiration.

The final line returns to the poetic element in science: "Who reveals the sun's secret resting-place, if
not I?" Revealing something which was once secret is learning, and thus Amergin reinforces the role
of inspiration in science and learning. These three final lines reiterate what was spoken previously,
and act as a sort of challenge to anyone thinking to refute his assertions. If divine inspiration is not
the basis of religion, then what is? If it is not the basis of history, song and poetry (which were
intimately connected in Celtic society), then what is? If it is not the basis of science and learning,
then what is?

d'Arbois de Jubainville, a renowned turn of the century (19th to 20th, that is) scholar of Irish folk
history, gives the following elaboration in his "Irish Mythological Cycle":

"There is a lack of order in this composition. The ideas, fundamental and subordinate, are jumbled
together without method, but there is no doubt as to the meaning: the filé [poet] is the Word of
Science, he is the god who gives to man the fire of thought; and as science is not distinct from its
object, as God and Nature are but one, the being of the filé is mingled with the winds and the waves,
with the wild animals and the warrior's arms."

In conclusion, a brief note about the end of Cyrus' previous write-up. He calls Amergin a druid and
says that the poem is about what it means to be a druid. While the first is true, that Amergin was a
druid, it was only true in part. The bards were an order of the druids charged with preservation of
history through music and verse. These verses were also entertaining, and so bards served a dual
role. However, the druidic "profession" (for lack of a better word) was much larger than this,
containing a variety of other orders as well, including judges, diviners, sacrificers and more. The Song
of Amergin is not really about what it means to be a druid, but rather what it means to be a poet.
Since it has established that the poet lives in varying forms in all of us, it is applicable to druids, but is
also applicable to everyone.

In other words, it's not about being a druid, it's about being human.