Poem of the Week: “Lunulae” by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Have you ever noticed the half-moon shapes at the base of your fingernails? Those are called “lunulae.” Doireann Ní Ghríofa is fascinated by these crescents—little astronomical wonders we carry with us wherever we go. Ní Ghríofa encourages her reader to find comfort in minute yet beautiful things in the face of our present social and political climate, when each day feels darker than the last. Do not wallow in despair, she seems to say. Not all the good in the world has gone.

Her new collection, itself titled Lunulae, is a monument to the little wonders of the human body and the spaces it inhabits, as well as the imagination needed to recognize and appreciate them.

— Melina Traiforos, WFU Press intern

Lunulae

Bíodh is gur theip ar an lá
mar a theip ar a sholas,

bíodh is gur ghéill an spéir arís
don ndorchadas,

i gcorráin ár n-ingne, lonraíonn
gealáin an dóchais—deich ngealach bheaga

a lasann gach greim, gile nach múchfar
fiú i scamaill na ndraighean.

Lunulae

Though it grew dark and darker,
how could we despair

when we remembered the crescents
in each fingernail?

Ten little moons
to glimmer our grip,

slips of brightness that persist,
holding our hands, even in darkness.

— Doireann Ní Ghríofa, from Lunulae (2024)