The Rousing Power of "Amorgen's Song"

A brief look at my favorite ancient Irish poem

Apr 03, 2024

rocks surrounded by ocean during sunset — Photo by Lucas Davies on Unsplash

Those familiar with Irish history and culture are likely aware of the rich storytelling, songwriting, and poetic traditions of Ireland. Even into the modern day, people across the globe may turn an ear towards Irish folk music whether that be for drinking in a pub, driving through a pastoral countryside, or simply sitting and listening to old CDs of The Chieftains, Enya, or Clannad. The roots of songs and poetry run very deep in Irish, Gaelic, and Celtic-speaking cultures as a whole, so deep that the vocation of poet was an honored and lucrative position in the olden days. Poets in mythic sagas, hold the power to raise up or destroy even the most powerful of kings, and the verses they compose may sometimes even do more fantastic things.

One poem ascribed to myth, which I particularly enjoy, is allegedly the first poem composed by a Gaelic person in Ireland: “Amorgen’s Song.” Amorgen (or Amergin) White-Knee is a poet referenced in the Lebor Gábala Éirinn (“The Book of Invasions”) who is a member of the Sons of Mil, the sixth and final wave of invaders to settle Ireland after the supernatural Tuatha dé dannan. It is a poem that a neo-pagan might feel radiates with the primeval powers of the old faith, although it was likely written by Christians. Regardless of religion, this at least provides an inspiring look into how Irish poets might have regarded their relationship to the natural world. So, to begin National Poetry Month, I will share a translation of “Amorgen’s Song” and provide some of my own thoughts on it.

I first encountered this poem in Elibron Classics’ collection The Poem-Book of the Gael (edited by Eleanor Hull) after receiving a copy from my grandparents one Christmas. At the time, I was particularly interested in the section “Ancient Pagan Poems” (although, as stated above, these “pagan poems” were likely copied down by Christians), which seemed to be the slimmest selection of the book. I was immediately captivated by the verses of “Amorgen’s Song” and further inspired by the lore behind it once I revisited the story of how the Gaels took Ireland from the gods themselves. To this day, the version in The Poem-Book remains my favorite translation. Here, I’ll share the poem in full:

Amorgen sang:
I am the wind on the sea (for depth);
I am a wave of the deep (for weight);
I am the sound of the sea (for horror);
I am a stag of seven points (? for strength);
I am a hawk on a cliff (for deftness);
I am a tear of the sun (for clearness);
I am the fairest of herbs;
I am a boar for valour;
I am a salmon in a pool (i.e. the pools of knowledge);
I am a lake on the plain (for extent);
I am a hill of Poetry (and knowledge);
I am a battle-waging spear with trophies (for spoiling or hewing);
I am a god, who fashions smoke from magic fire for a head (to slay therewith);
(Who but I make clear every question?)
Who but myself, knows the assemblies of the stone-house on the mountain of Slieve Mis?
Who (but the Poet) knows what place the sun goes down?
Who seven times sought the fairy-mounds without fear?
Who declares them, the ages of the moon?
Who brings his kine from Tethra’s house?
Who segregated Tethra’s kine?
(For whom will the fish of the laughing sea be making welcome, but for me?)
Who shapeth weapons from hill to hill (wave to wave, letter to letter, point to point)?
Invoke, O people of the waves, invoke the satirist, that he may make an incantation for thee!
I, the druid, who set out letters in Ogham;
I, who part combatants;
I, who approach the fairy-mounds to seek a cunning satirist, that he may compose chants with me.
I am the wind on the sea.1

I think one of the first things that struck me about this poem was Amorgen’s declaration of the elements of nature that made up his being. In a creative writing intensive I partook in the same year as when I received The Poem-Book, a guest poet came to one of our lectures and led us through an exercise of writing a poem about ourselves. I don’t think “Amorgen’s Song” was on his mind when he presented the exercise, but the prompt he gave us was simply, “Who do you think you are?” That question returned to me immediately when I read “Amorgen’s Song.”

Each line answers that question—“Who do you think you are?”

It is a “self-portrait” through the medium of poetry that breaks down and declares the elemental being of the poet. It’s this type of poem that I think every poet should try writing about themselves. As well-meaning as poems that talk about insecurities and flaws can be, what can really drive a point home is a poem that takes a stand and says, “This is the stuff my soul is made of.” And if it may sound arrogant to write something praising yourself, don’t think of it so much as praise but just the simple truth about who you think you are. “Amorgen’s Song” is connected to a man whose people drove the very gods of Ireland underground, and if that isn’t something deserving of a moment to declare the very fabric of nature that makes up your soul then I don’t know what is. To me, it’s not only a song about Amorgen himself but his fellow Gaels who won Ireland; the poem references the very best qualities and skills of ancient Irish heroes, heroes that people would be proud to claim descendance from.

So if the writers in my audience are thinking of crafting some kind of poetry for the month of April, my challenge to you would be to write your own song about yourself. Think of the elements you relate to most in nature—or really your home turf, wherever that may be—and put them all together in a poem. Focus on the stuff you think makes you “boss.” Answer the question, “Who do you think you are?”

If you do decide to write your own poem and post it here or elsewhere, tag Senchas Claideb in Notes and I will restack each one!

Thanks for reading this week’s post! Which poems have you read that inspired you to think differently about yourself? Share them in the comments below!

The Rousing Power of "Amorgen's Song"

A brief look at my favorite ancient Irish poem

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