rhôd

Cywydd y Cedor

Ode to pubic hair

Pob rhyw brydydd, dydd dioed,
mul frwysg, wladaidd rwysg erioed,
noethi moliant, nis gwrantwyf,
anfeidrol reiol yr wyf,
am gerdd merched y gwledydd
a wnaethant heb ffyniant ffydd
yn anghwbl iawn, ddawn ddiwad,
ar hyd y dydd, rho Duw Dad:
moli gwallt, cwnsallt ceinserch,
a phob cyfryw sy fyw o ferch,
ac obry moli heb wg
yr aeliau uwchlaw'r olwg;
moli hefyd, hyfryd dwf,
foelder dwyfron feddaldwf,
a breichiau gwen, len loywlun,
dylai barch, a dwylaw bun.
Yno o'i brif ddewiniaeth
cyn y nos canu a wnaeth,
Duw er ei radd a'i addef,
diffrwyth wawd o'i dafawd ef:
gadu'r canol heb foliant
a'r plas lle'r enillir plant,
a'r cedor clyd, rhagor claer,
tynerdew, cylch twn eurdaer,
lle carwn i, cywrain iach,
y cedor dan y cadach.
Corff wyd diball ei allu,
cwrt difreg o'r bloneg blu.
Llyma 'ynghred, teg y cedawr,
cylch gweflau ymylau mawr,
pant yw hwy na llwy na llaw,
clawdd i ddal cal ddwy ddwylaw;
cont yno wrth din finffloch,
dabl y gerdd â'i dwbl o goch.
Ac nid arbed, freisged frig,
y gloywsaint, gwyr eglwysig
mewn cyfle iawn, ddawn ddifreg,
myn Beuno, ei deimlo'n deg.
Am hyn o chwaen, gaen gerydd,
y prydyddion sythion sydd,
gadewch heb ffael er cael ced
gerddau cedor i gerdded.
Sawden awdl, sidan ydiw,
sêm fach, len ar gont wen wiw,
lleiniau mewn man ymannerch,
y llwyn sur, llawn yw o serch,
fforest falch iawn, ddawn ddifreg,
ffris ffraill, ffwrwr dwygaill deg,
breisglwyn merch, drud annerch dro,
berth addwyn, Duw'n borth iddo.

Gwerful Mechain
Powys, Cymru c1480

Every foolish drunken poet,
boorish vanity without ceasing,
(never may I warrant it,
I of great noble stock,)
has always declaimed fruitless praise
in song of the girls of the lands
all day long, certain gift,
most incompletely,
by God the Father:
praising the hair, gown of fine love,
and every such living girl,
and lower down praising merrily
the brows above the eyes;
praising also, lovely shape,
the smoothness of the soft breasts,
and the beauty’s arms, bright drape,
she deserved honour, and the girl’s hands.
Then with his finest wizardry
before night he did sing,
he pays homage to God’s greatness,
fruitless eulogy with his tongue:
leaving the middle without praise
and the place where children are conceived,
and the warm quim, clear excellence,
tender and fat, bright fervent broken circle,
where I loved, in perfect health,
the quim below the smock.
You are a body of boundless strength,
a faultless court of fat’s plumage.
I declare, the quim is fair,
circle of broad-edged lips,
it is a valley longer than a spoon or a hand,
a ditch to hold a penis two hands long;
cunt there by the swelling arse,
song’s table with its double in red.
And the bright saints, men of the church,
when they get the chance, perfect gift,
don’t fail, highest blessing,
by Beuno, to give it a good feel.
For this reason, thorough rebuke,
all you proud poets,
let songs to the quim circulate
without fail to gain reward.
Sultan of an ode, it is silk,
little seam, curtain on a fine bright cunt,
flaps in a place of greeting,
the sour grove, it is full of love,
very proud forest, faultless gift,
tender frieze, fur of a fine pair of testicles,
a girl’s thick grove, circle of precious greeting,
lovely bush, God save it.

Gwerful Mechain
Powys, Wales c1480

This poem was published and translated from Welsh by Dafydd Johnston

Terze Rime

Third Rhyme

Ed io, poi che’l ciel vòlse liberarmi
da si mortal periglio, ho sempre atteso
a l’essercizio nobile de l’armi,
si ch’or, animo e forze avendo preso,
di provocarvi a rissa in campo ardisco,
con cor non poco a la vendetta acceso.
Non so se voi stimiate lieve risca
entra con una donna in campo armato;
ma ia, benché ingannata, v’avvertisco
che’l mettersi con donne è da l’un lato
biasmo ad uam forte, m da l’altro è poi
caso d’altra importanza riputato.
Quando armate ed esperte ancor siam noi,
render buon conto a ciascun uom potemo,
ché moni e piedi e core aveni qual voi;
e se ben malli e delicato semo,
ancor tal uom, ch’è delicato, e forte;
etal ruvido ed aspro, è d’ardir scemo.
Di ciò non se ne son le donne accorte;
che se si risolvessero di farlo,
con voi pugnar porian fino a la morte.
E per farvi veder che’l vero parlo,
tra tante donne incominciar voglio io,
porgendo essempio a lor di seguitarlo. ……

Gli occhi del vostro senno rivolgete
e quanto ingluriar donne vi sia
disdicevole, voi stesso vedete.
Povero sesso, con fortuna ria
sempro prodotto, perch’ ognor soggetto
e senza libertà sempre si stia!
Né però di noi fu certo il diffetto,
che se ben come l’uom uon sem forzate,
come l’uom mente avemo ed intelletto.
Nè in forza corporal sta la virtute,
ma nel vigor de l’alma e de l’ingegno,
da cui tutte le cose son sapute;
e certa son che in cio loco men degno
non han le donne, ma d’esser maggiori
degli vomini dato hanno piú d’un segno.
Ma’sedi voi si reputiam minori,
fors’è perché in modestia ed in sapere
di voi siamo piú facili e migliori.
E che sia’l ver, voletela vedere?
Che’l puí savio ancor sia piú paziente
par ch’a la ragion quadri ed al devere:
del pazzo è proprio lesser insolente,
ma quel sasso del pozzo il savio tragge,
ch’altri a gettar lo fu vano e imprudente…….

Veronica Franco
Venezia 1575

So now, having regained both power and courage,
I burn to challenge you to field of battle
With a full heart kindled for my revenge.
You think, perhaps, the risk is very little –
Entering in armed conflict with a woman –
But I, although betrayed, announce to you
That for a man to fight against a woman
Brings heavy shame to him, but for the other
Can be a case of great and high import.
When we too are armed and trained,
we can convince men that we have hands,
feet, and a heart like yours;
and although we may be delicate and soft,
some men who are delicate are also strong;
and others, coarse and harsh, are cowards.
Women have not yet realized this,
for if they should decide to do so,
they would be able to fight you until death;
and to prove that I speak the truth,
amongst so many women,
I will be the first to act,
setting an example for them to follow. …..

Look with the eyes of your good sense
and see for yourself how unworthy of you
it is to insult and injure women.
Unfortunate sex, always led about
by cruel fortune, because you are always
subjected and without freedom!
But this has certainly been no fault of ours,
because, if we are not as strong as men,
like men we have a mind and intellect.
And virtue does not lie in bodily strength
but in the vigor of the soul and mind,
through which all things come to be known;
and I am certain that in this respect
women lack nothing, but, rather, have given
more than one sign of being greater than men.
But if you think us inferior to you,
perhaps it's because in modesty and wisdom
we are more adept and better than you.
And do you want to know what the truth is?
That the wisest person should be the most patient
squares with reason and with what is right;
insolence is the mark of the madman,
but the stone that the wise man draws from the well
was thrown in by a foolish, imprudent man.......

Veronica Franco
Venice 1575