Columba's Island Paradise

Loriana Pauli, who resides in and blogs from North Uist, posted this excerpt of a poem, attributed to St Columba on her blog. I take the liberty of reposting.

Columba’s Island Paradise (12th century, translated from the Gaelic)

in THE TRIUMPH TREE, Scotland’s earliest poetry AD 550-1350

Delight I find in an island’s breast,

on a rock’s peak,

that there I might often gaze

at the sea’s calm.

That I might see its heavy waves

over the brilliant sea

as it sings music to the Father

on its constant way.

Might see its smooth bright-caped strand

(no dismal tryst);

might hear the strange bird’s calls,

a joyful strain.

Might hear the shallow waves’ crash

against the rocks;

might hear the cry beside the graves,

the ocean’s roar.

Might see its splendid birdflocks

over the teeming sea;

might see its whales,

greatest of all marvels.

Than I might see its ebb and flow

in their sequence………

The poem concludes with the lines 

That this might be my name, a secret I tell

'Back towards Ireland'

That help of heart might come to me

gazing on it

that I might lament all my wrongs

hard to mention


St Columba, who died in the year 597 AD, was an abbot and a prince who had fled his native Ireland after standing up against one of that islands warrior kings. Upon fleeing, he decided to go to the west coast of Scotland. However, as he felt that seeing the Irish coast on the horizon would be an irresistible temptation to return, Columba (or Colum Cille) vowed that he would settle on the first island where he could not see Ireland on a clear day. That first island was Iona, off the west coast of Mull. Nonetheless, the yearning for his native land would be pulling his heart strings for good.

Sunday 17 June

A change in the weather today, with occasional showers - for the first time in weeks. The rainfall totals for today in Point (east of Stornoway) are between 1 and 2 mm, less than 0.1 inches. Nonetheless, a welcome dampening for our parched and tinderbox dry island. At least a recurrence of last week's wildfires now seems less likely.

The Greek elections appear to favour parties that want to retain the Euro, although forming a government is not going to be easy. Should a government be formed that does not want to abide by the restrictions, then Greece may be forced to leave the Euro, a move that will have serious consequences for Europe. Let's hope it does not come to that. However, the effects of the austerity measures have been shown in graphic details in recent news bulletins, with overt poverty and deprivation in abundance across Greece.

I could not get over the scenes at a tennis match, where one of the players kicked an advertising board, which injured a match official. The player, who was in a final, was promptly disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.