Finding Inspiration...

The other day, I mentioned a poem in Breton. Here is the poem, with my loose English rendering:

Merzhin Divinour
Merzhin, Merzhin, pelec'h it-hu
Ken beure-se gant ho ki du?
Bet on bet kass kaout an tu,
Da gaout dre-mañ ar vi ruz,
Ar vi ruz eus an naer-vorek
War lez an aod, toull ar garreg.
Mont a ran da glask d'ar flourenn
Ar beler glas hag an aour yeoten,
Koulz hag uhel-varr an dervenn
E-kreiz ar c'hoad, lez ar feunteun.

Divine Merlin
Merlin, Merlin, where goest thou
This early morn, with thy black hound?
I am just come from the seacoast,
Where I went seeking the red egg -
The red egg of the sea dragon,
Laid at shore in a rock hollow.
Now I go to search the meadow
For blue cress and the golden herb.
Then I shall gather mistletoe
In the forest by the fountain.

While translation isn't the best way to learn a foreign language, sometimes it's nice to find something above your level and get a sense for it. It's one more opportunity to get the language running through your mind and make the culture a part of you. And thanks to Google, it's easy to find a short sample in just about any language.