Poem: I Am Taliesin by Anonymous

[janne_d]

I don't have a huge amount of poems written by that famous author A Nonymous but they tend to be the older ones. This one was written in the 13th century.

Taliesin was a Welsh poet, I believe, from about 700 years before that. In legends, he was a bard in King Arthur's court which adds a little extra charm to the poem now that I'm all obsessed with Merlin.



I Am Taliesin

I am Taliesin. I sing perfect metre,
Which will last to the end of the world.
My patron is Elphin...

I know why there is an echo in a hollow;
Why silver gleams; why breath is black; why liver is bloody;
Why a cow has horns; why a woman is affectionate;
Why milk is white; why holly is green;
Why a kid is bearded; why the cow-parsnip is hollow;
Why brine is salt; why ale is bitter;
Why the linnet is green and berries red;
Why a cuckoo complains; why it sings;
I know where the cuckoos of summer are in winter.
I know what beasts there are at the bottom of the sea;
How many spears in battle; how many drops in a shower;
Why a river drowned Pharaoh's people;
Why fishes have scales,
Why a white swan has black feet...

I have been a blue salmon,
I have been a dog, a stag, a roebuck on the mountain,
A stock, a spade, an axe in the hand,
A stallion, a bull, a buck,
A grain which grew on a hill,
I was reaped and placed in an oven,
I fell to the ground when I was being roasted
And a hen swallowed me.
For nine nights was I in her crop.
I have been dead, I have been alive,
I am Taliesin.



I love the "I sing perfect metre" line at the start. I like the rhythm of the lists going through the rest of the poem, especially when he lists the things he has been.