Suibhne:
- At ease art thou, bright Eorann,
at the bedside with thy lover;
not so with me here,
long have I been restless.- Once thou didst utter,O great Eorann,
a saying pleasing and light,
that thou wouldst not survive
parted one day from Suibhne.- To-day, it is readily manifest,
thou thinkest little of thy old friend;
warm for thee on the down of a pleasant bed,
cold for me abroad till morn.Eorann:
- Welcome to thee, thou guileless mad one!
thou art most welcome of the men of the earth;
though at ease am I, my body is wasted
since the day I heard of thy ruin.Suibhne:
- More welcome to thee is the king's son
who takes thee to feast without sorrow;
he is thy chosen wooer;
you seek not your old friend.Eorann:
- Though the king's son were to lead me
to blithe banqueting-halls,
I had liefer sleep in a tree's narrow hollow
beside thee, my husband, could I do so.- If my choice were given me
of the men of Erin and Alba,
I had liefer bide sinless with thee
on water and on watercress.
Suibhne:
- No path for a beloved lady
is that of Suibhne here on the track of care;
cold are my beds at Ard Abhla,
my cold dwellings are not few.- More meet for thee to bestow love and affection
on the man with whom thou art alone
than on an uncouth and famished madman,
horrible, fearful, stark-naked.Eorann:
- O toiling madman, 'tis my grief
that thou art uncomely and dejected;
I sorrow that thy skin has lost its colour,
briars and thorns rending thee.Suibhne:
- I blame thee not for it,
thou gentle, radiant woman;
Christ, Son of Mary—great bondage—
He has caused my feebleness.Eorann:
- I would fain that we were together,
and that feathers might grow on our bodies;
in light and darkness I would wander
with thee each day and night.Suibhne:
- One night I was in pleasant Boirche,
I have reached lovely Tuath Inbhir,
I have wandered throughout Magh Fail,
I have happened on Celi Ui Suanaigh.