The Watergaw
Hugh MacDiarmid wrote "The Watergaw" in a Scots dialect. I have translated the poem into modern English to make it easier to read and understand. A watergaw is a fragmentary rainbow.
The Watergaw
by Hugh MacDiarmid
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
English Translations by Michael R. Burch
These are my English translations of poems by the Jewish Holocaust poet Miklos Radnoti, the Scottish poet William Dunbar, the German poet Georg Trakl, the English poet Pauline Mary Tarn who wrote poems in French as Renee Vivien, and other poets.
Postcard 1
by Miklós Radnóti, written August 30, 1944
translation by Michael R. Burch
William Dunbar translations
These are my modern English translations of the great Scottish poet William Dunbar.
Sweet Rose of Virtue
by William Dunbar (c. 1460-1530)
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Sweet rose of virtue and of gentleness,
delightful lily of youthful wantonness,
richest in bounty and in beauty clear
and in every virtue men hold most dear,
except only that you are merciless.