The following poem is written in the iartrom mode of dán díreach poetry, an ancient poetic style used within the filí tradition. One of the six díans taught to first-year students, the iartrom employs stanzas consisting of a beginning and end line of 8 syllables, two middle lines of 7 syllables, with an end word of alternating syllable counts of 2 and 1. This mode also employs a unique rhyming scheme called aicell, where the end word of the first line in a couplet rhymes with the beginning word of the second sentence.
The works of wisdom, most profound; Confound the cosmos, O God! Your principles pierce darkness; I witness your wisdom, O Lord. Design your decrees most sacred! Teach our kind, create from naught. We were taught sublime statues; And choose your light and life, O Lord. Illumine, inspire, Most Holy! Lift up the lowly, O Mind; Our kind’s stupor shall scatter; Like matter most mindful, O God.