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O sea-bird, beautiful upon the tides,
White as the moon is when the night abides,
Or snow untouched, whose dustless splendour glows
Bright as a sunbeam and whose white wing throws
A glove of challenge on the salt sea-flood.

— Dafydd ap Gwilym

Yr wylan deg ar lanw dioer
Unlliw ag eiry neu wenlloer,
Dilwch yw dy degwch di,
Darn fel haul, dyrnfol, heli.

Original text (Portuguese)

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More quotes by Dafydd ap Gwilym

There never has been a time when I did not fall in love with one or two in a single day.

I never entertained the dreadful thought that my face was anything other than good and fair until, in an act of revelation, I picked up a mirror.

God is not so cruel as old men tell us: nor will God cut off the gentle soul of a man for loving a woman or a girl. Three things are loved by the whole world: women, fine weather, and good health, and girls are the fairest flower in Heaven next to God Himself.

Welkin's wind, way unhindered,
Big blusterer passing by,
A harsh-voiced man of marvels,
World-bold, without foot or wing.

Winnowing leaves, you steal nests,
None charge you, you're not halted
By armed band, lieutenant's hand,
Blue blade or flood or downpour.

All Dafydd ap Gwilym quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Dafydd ap Gwilym (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.