Taliesin, I sing perfect metre Which will last to the end of the world I know why there is an echo in a hollow Why silver gleams, why breath is black, why liver is bloody
Why a cow has horns, why a woman is affectionate Why milk is white, why holly is green Why a kid is bearded, why the cow parsnip is hollow Why brine is salt, why ale is bitter Why the linnet is green and berries red Why a cuckoo complains, why it sings I know where the cuckoos of summer are in winter I know what beasts there are at the bottom of the sea How many spears in battle, how many drops in the shower Why a river drowned PharaohÂŽs people Why fishes have scales, why a white swan has black feet I have been a blue salmon I have been a dog, a stag, a roebuck on the mountain
A stock, a spade, an axe in the hand A stallion, a bull, a buck I was reaped and placed in an oven I fell to the ground when I was being roasted And a hen swallowed me For nine nights was I in her crop I have been dead, I have been alive I am Taliesin