Three Tanka, in Irish and English, on Margaret McCarthy Photography, by Gabriel Rosenstock

Tanka 1 - Dolmen Axeitos, Galicia, Spain

a shearc
óm' chroí réamhstairiúil
ó shaol seo na gcloch
              mo bheannacht ort
              beir barróg orm led' ghilese

beloved
from my prehistoric heart
from my petrified existence
                greetings to You
                embrace me with Your light

Tanka 2 - Gallarus Oratory, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland

tá sé ag cur báistí
le míle bliain
nó níos mó, a chumann
          fearthainn ón bhfarraige
          ina siollaí caoine

it has been raining
for a thousand years
or more, beloved
           rain coming in from the sea
           in gentle syllables

Tanka 3  -   Mên-an-Tol  (Stone of the Hole) Cornwall, England

a shearc
ní thuigtear níos mó an bhrí
atá leis an Mên-an-Tol
          neosfaidh mé anois duit é
          bíodh sé ina rún daingean

long gone, beloved
days when men knew
what it was: the Mên-an-Tol
            I shall tell You now
           the secret must be ours

Gabriel Rosenstock
​
The English versions of these poems first appeared in Modern Literature.

Gabriel Rosenstock was born in postcolonial Ireland. He is a poet, translator, haikuist, tankaist, playwright, essayist and novelist.

Inspired and indebted to mythology, Margaret McCarthy brings the eye of a poet to her photography, exploring archetypes of myth and dream in her imagery. Recent honours include Honorable Mention in 2020’s 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers, and a Merit Award in the 2020 All About Photo Awards.  She was named among the “Best of the Best Emerging Fine Art Photographers” by BW Gallerist Magazine;  Artzealous  chose her as one of “Four Photographers to Keep Your Eye On in 2016.” McCarthy’s extensive list of exhibitions include: the Fogg Art Museum, The Griffin Museum of Photography, the Overseas Press Club and The Hudson River Museum, as well as numerous galleries, universities and public exhibition spaces. Her “Divine Feminine” series is now part of the Kinsey Institute Art Collection. A few of the fine art publications where her work has appeared include Musee, Lenscratch, Shadow and Light, and Parabola.