POETRY 1900-2000

EDITOR

MEIC STEPHENS

PARTISANL I B R A R Y O F W A L E S

C O N T E N T S

Preface by Dafydd Elis-Thomas i

Editor's Note , . •. • . ,v

W. H.DAVIES 1 8 7 M 9 4 0 . ". •. 1The KingfisherLeisureDays that have BeenA Great TimeThe Collier's WifeThe InquestThe VillainThe PoetA Woman's HistoryLet Us Lie Close

HUW MENAI 1888-1961 11The Old Peasant in the Billiard SaloonCwm Farm near Capel Curig

A. G. PRYS-JONES 1888-1987 13A Ballad of Glyn Dwr's Rising ,Salt MarshesSpring comes to GlamorganQuite so . . . - . , • . -ElevatedBusiness as Usual

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WYN GRIFFITH 1890-1977 , 18If there be timeSilver Jubilee 1939

DAVID JONES 1895-1974 21In Parenthesis (extract)

'This Dai adjusts his slipping shoulder-straps...'The Tutelar of the Place (extract)

'Now sleep on, little children...'The Sleeping Lord (extract)

'Tawny-black sky-scurries...'

EILUNED LEWIS 1900-1979 37The BirthrightThe Bride ChestShips' Sirens

GWYN WILLIAMS 1904-1990 41Inns of Love : for D.Belly DancerWild Night at TreweithanLame FoxSaint Ursula of LlangwyryfonEaster Poem 'Drawing a Line

IDRIS DAVIES 1905-1953 50Gwalia Deserta (extracts)

II 'My fathers in the mining valleys'IV 'O timbers from Norway and muscles from Wales'

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VIII 'Do you remember 1926? That summer of...'•'. XII 'There's a concert in the village to buy us...'

XV 'O what can you give me?'XXIV 'Because I was sceptical in our Sunday School'

' ' XXVI 'The village of Fochriw grurits among the...'XXXI 'Consider famous men, Dai bach, consider...'XXXIV 'When we walked to Merthyr Tydfil, in the...'

The Angry Summer (extracts). 1 'Now it is May among the mountains'

7 'Mrs Evans fach, you want butter again'15 'In the square brown chapel below the hill'24 'Cow-parsley and hawthorn blossom'31 'Let's go to Barry Island, Maggie fach'37 'Send out your homing pigeons, Dai'

, 43 'O rain of July pouring down from the heavens'Tonypandy (extract)

III 'The dusk deepens into the autumn night'Capel Calvin ";

A Carol for the CoalfieldA Star in the EastLand of My Mothers

GLYN JONES 1905-1995 69Esyllt ferch BrychanSceneEasterMerthyrCwmcelynMorningBindweed

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Goodbye, what were you?The Common PathThe Meaning of Fuchsias

VERNON -WAT-KINS 1906-1967 . 85Griefs of the SeaPortrait of a FriendMusic of Colours: White BlossomReturning to GoleufrynTaliesin in GowerThe MarePeace in the Welsh HillsGreat Nights Returning iWaterfallsOde to SwanseaFidelities

MARGIAD EVANS 1909-1958 105The NightingaleA Lark SonnetTo my Sister Sian

LYNETTE ROBERTS 1909-1995 109Poem from LlanybriLamentationEarthboundMoorhenThe SeasonsGods with Stainless Ears (extract)

II 'We must upprise O my people. Though...'

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JEAN EARLE 1909-2002 121Walking HomeVisiting LightStillbornJugged Hare

TOM EARLEY 1911-1998 128TiddlersRebel's Progress

BRENDA CHAMBERLAIN 1912-1971 131To Dafydd Coed mourning his mountain-broken dogYou, who in April laughedTalysarnIslandmanDead Ponies

R. S. THOMAS 1913-2000 135A Peasantthe Welsh Hill CountryCynddylan on a TractorWelsh HistoryWelsh LandscapeEvansA Blackbird SingingFarm WifeThose OthersLooking at SheepThe MoorIn Church

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ReservoirsKneelingVia NegativaThe Bright FieldThe OtherThe White TigerA Marriage

DYLAN THOMAS 1914-1953 152The force that through the green fuse drives the flowerEspecially when the October windThis bread I break •And death shall have no dominionAfter the funeralA Refusal to Mourn the Death, By Fire, of a Child in LondonPoem in OctoberThe Hunchback in the ParkDo not go gentle into that good night - ' .-''In my Craft or Sullen ArtCeremony After a Fire RaidFern Hill

ALUN LEWIS 1915-1944 173Raiders' DawnAll Day it has Rained ; ,The SentryThe Mountain over Aberdare ;

G o o d b y e . . . • • • • • ;

On Embarkation (extract) ,:II 'Before he sails a man may go on leave' - ;

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SongThe Mahratta GhatsIn Hospital: Poona (extract)

I 'Last night I did not fight for sleep'

KEIDRYCH RHYS 1915-1987 186The Prodigal SpeaksInterludeTragic GuiltYouth

ROLAND MATHIAS 1915-2007 191CraswallThe Flooded ValleyA Last RespectDeparture in Middle AgeAbsalom in the TreeIndictmentThey have not survivedPorth CwyfanBurning BramblesBrechfa Chapel

EMYR HUMPHREYS 1919- 207Ancestor Worship .A Roman Dream

Gwr y RhosA Democratic Vista ,; -From Father to Son J ;K <Twenty-four, Pairs of Socks

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HARRI WEBB 1920-1994 217Local Boy Makes GoodValley WinterRomantic Peeps at Remote PeoplesThe Boomerang in the ParlourThanks in WinterThe Stone FaceIsraelSynopsis of the Great Welsh NovelA Crown for Branwen

JOHN STUART WILLIAMS 1920-2001 230Gwynt Traed y MeirwOverkillLast Words

T. H. JONES 1921-1965 234Poem for MadeleineDifferenceGorse IdyllRhiannonLand of my FathersA Confusion of Bright WomenBack?Girl Reading John DonneBuilth Wells

ROBERT MORGAN 1921-1994 244Village :

Blood Donor

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PETER HELLINGS 1921-1994 247Academic FestivalMotleyRalph's

LESLIE NORRIS 1921-2006 253Autumn ElegyEarly FrostThe Ballad of Billy RoseWaterElegy for David BeynonHudson's GeeseA Sea in the DesertBordersPeachesHis Father, Singing

RUTH BIDGOOD 1922- 275Little of DistinctionBurial PathAll; Souls'Church in the RainHawthorn at DigiffOlchon ValleyMerthyr ClydawgQuestion

JOHN ORMOND 1923-1990 285At his Father's Grave 'My Grandfather and his Apple-Tree

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Cathedral BuildersDefinition of a WaterfallIn SeptemberAncient MonumentsSalmonThe GiftTuscan Cypresses

DANNIE ABSE 1923- 304EpithalamionLetter to Alex ComfortThe GameReturn to CardiffThe French MasterA Night OutNot AdlestropIn Llandough HospitalLast WordsA Letter from Ogmore-by-Sea •

ALISON BIELSKI 1925- 319tokenborder countryeagles

RAYMOND GARLICK 1926- 323Consider KyffinAncestors ,,-.''Saunders Lewis at Newtown ; .•...Capitals . . . . , , ,

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AgincourtMatters ArisingAnthem for Doomed YouthNotes for an Autobiography (extract)

4 'Looking at life's untidy plan'

MERCER SIMPSON 1926-2007 -339Exodus from BlaenavonHenry Vaughan Visits his Grandfather at Tretower

JOHN TRIPP 1927-1986 • ' - 342Diesel to YesterdaySoliloquy for CompatriotsSeparationOn my Fortieth BirthdayTomcatWalnut Tree ForgeConnection in Bridgend

JOSEPH P. CLANCY 1928- 353Love's LanguageAnniversaryA Cywydd for KateA Cywydd for Christmas

DOUGLAS PHILLIPS 1929-2002 361To Sir Lewis Morris

BRIAN MORRIS 1930-2001 . 364Upon the Priorie Grove, His Usuall Retyrement

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At Non's WellAt Tre'r CeiriTryfanIn Cardigan Market

TONY CONRAN 1931- 371An,Invocation of Angels ,For the Marriage of Heulwen EvansThe Bombing of Guernica , ,Silver SpoonElegy for the Welsh Dead, in the Falkland

Islands, 1982A Square of Grey SlateCastles like Slang

HERBERT WILLIAMS 1932- 391Nothing to ReportThe Old TongueA CelebrationEpitaphThe AliensDepopulationCountdown to the GulfFuneral Oration

DANIEL HUWS 1932- 401From an Old SongbookIndelicateThe Ornithologist's FriendGoodbye to TudorThe House of Self-destruction

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BRYAN ASPDEN 1933-1999 404Nant HondduWhich we areErw FawrVin Audenaire

BRYN GRIFFITHS 1933- 409Talley AbbeyThe MasterDying at PallauStarlingsHoly Joe

STUART EVANS 1934-1994 416Jardin MunicipalBlue Carnations

JON DRESSEL 1934- 419You, Benjamin JonesHard Love and a CountryDai,'-Live -iThe Shop Girl

SAM ADAMS 1934- 426Martins' NestSlidingOnion SellersHill Fort, CaerleonMissed Chances ' < .At the Spanish Steps

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SALLY ROBERTS JONES 1935- 433A Small TragedyRemembrance Day: AberystwythCommunityPalm Sunday / Sul y BlodauAnn GriffithsTurning Away

PETER GRUFFYDD 1935- 441Macsen Wledig to the WelshShepherdWoman with ChildThe Soldier's Flute (extract)

'When you wake a cornet drags a snagging path' 'Some Fathers

ANNE CLUYSENAAR 1936- 448Vaughan Variations (extracts)

5 'The hillside's a fall of water' . , :

16 'After the first shock, days' . , . :23 'Her heart-beat flows round them, in them, like...'

JOHN POWELL WARD 1937- 456The Burglar ;. •On the LakeThe GuardsWinter •At the PoolThe Irish Sea from St. Davids : . •' ' ..

Hurry Up Please, It's Time .. • '••'••'

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ALUN REES 1937- 466Release John Lucifer!My Mother's MotherTaffy is a Welshman .The,Cabbages of MaidanekKipling RevisitedTen Parlour Socialists

GILLIAN CLARKE 1937- 475The SundialLunchtime LectureHarvest at MynachlogMy'Box •Sheila na Gig at KilpeckThe HareTranslationRSLament

JOHN IDRIS JONES 1938- 487Green Country, ClwydTo loan Madog, Poet, AncestorLlandaff Cathedral

MEIC STEPHENS 1938- • ; . , 492Ponies, TwynyrodynHooters \ > , ;Elegy for Mrs Mordecai

GRAHAM ALLEN 1938- 498Out of the Dark

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A ScholarshipThe Song she Brought

JOHN BARNIE 1941- 502Notes from the CarboniferousA Hill ChapelAbout the UskAn Upturn in the Price of OilAt the Salt HotelFactsThe Otters

CHRIS TORRANCE 1941- 510Maen Madoc ,The FoxThe House of Stone

JEREMY HOOKER 1941- 518BeidogCurlewThe Mason's Law ;Wind Blew OnceHill Country RhythmsPwyll the Old GodVariations on a theme by Waldo Williams (extract)

JOHN POOK1942- 527English Lesson • . . . ' . .AnniversaryIn Chapel

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Weekend at HomeL'Art Poetique

ALAN PERRY 1942- 532Proverbs and Sayings from the RoadsideA Brief EncounterLive WiresFires on the Common

CHRISTINE EVANS 1943- 537CallersSummer in the VillageUnseen IslandThe FishermanLlynIsland Children

JOHN DAVIES 1944- 545DandelionsThe BridgeThe Visitor's Book (extracts)

I • ' 'Just where along the line did this voice start'II 'Cymmer Afan: wet pensioned streets fagged-out'VIII'To swerve from village chapel to a town's'IX 'The tv set, stirring itself, confides'

Starting PointReading the Country (extracts)

VII The WeathercockVIII BarrennessXI The Old Language

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GRAHAM THOMAS 1944- 553BreakfastsA FrogAt YnysdduThe One Place •

PAUL EVANS 1945-1991 558The Manual for the Perfect Organisation of Tourneys (extract)Sweet LucyTalking with Dewi •>

RICHARD POOLE 1945- 568Falling Back on Kant .Words Before Midnight •. • fEvening on the BeachExtravagant LoveThe CryAir: an Aria

DUNCAN BUSH 1946- : 577Gwlad, Gwlad ,.-...•Summer, 1984Brigitte Bardot in Grangetown , •• , , v

Crocuses . ., - . : •The Song in our Heart'Caroline': A County LifeRhubarb

T O N Y CURTIS 1 9 4 6 - - • ••-. 591

To my Father ;•-,-.. : \

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PreparationsSoupIvyTaken for PearlsThe Death of Richard Beattie-Seaman in the Belgian

Grand Prix, 1939Incident on a Hospital Train from Calcutta, 1944Portrait of the Painter Hans Theo Richter and his

Wife Giselda in Dresden, 1933Heaven's Gate

PENNYANNE WINDSOR 1946- 602Dancing Woman 1like orangesHeroines

ANDREW MCNE1LLIE 1946- 607Dark HorsePissPlato's Aviary (extract)

xii Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)Wish ListIn Defence of PoetryGone for GoodGlyn Dwr Sonnets (extract) > . <

'When young Owain went to Bod Alaw'

DOUGLAS HOUSTON 1947- 614Tomorrow Never Knows'Here's tae Us'

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Dead Man's ShoesDay in, Day outW. H. Auden in Cwmbrwyno

DAVID HUGHES 1947- 621FlowersTidy BoyThe Streets of Llandeilo

PAUL GROVES 1947- 626Turvy-TopsyA Look around New York

Magnum OpusThe Big AdventureBooseningA High Room off SpitalgasseLines for Georgia O'KeeffeThe Cordless Handset

PETER FINCH 1947- 638The Tao of DiningThe Student HouseBlodeuwedd Translated .All I Need is Three Plums :. . .Llywelyn Goch ap Meurig Hen at Speed •Rnld TomosGod Moves in Mysterious Ways

GLENDA BEAGAN 1948- •• . . 645Rhiannon ;

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BoudiccaMelangell

ROBERT WALTON 1948- 650Airing CupboardA Woman of Sixty Changed her Name

NIGEL JENKINS 1949- 653SnowdropsThe Language of LoveWild CherryNever Forget your WelshAn Execrably Tasteless Farewell to Viscount No >

STEVE GRIFFITHS 1949- 667Crossing Lady Stanley, Here, 1868The Mines in Sepia TintChildren in a Walled GardenGlyndwr Subdued

IFOR THOMAS 1949- 675I told her I Loved her a Lot in Splott • ' v

BomberUncle Dewi's LumpHotel Rossiya: In Memoriam

SHEENAGH PUGH 1950- 681What if this RoadCaptain Roberts Goes LootingId's Hospit

xxxi

StonelightEnvying Owen Beattie

Graffiti ManThe Tormented Censor

Toast •• .:.

ROWAN WILLIAMS 1950 - 694Our Lady of Vladimir - • , ;Advent CalendarOystermouth CemeteryPenrhysGethsemane i:;:: -

T o l s t o y a t A s t a p o v o • - . ' - . •::'.•-,' :. •••; •••..-

HILARY LLEWELLYN-WILLIAMS 1951- - 701Reed Ngetal -- n ... ,.;To t h e I s l a n d s • -,;; ,-. • • .; • - !.

T h e Sealwife , ; [ j , ' . . , , - ;

A n i m a c u l t u r e :- • ••. > . : • • • ,

A Lap of Apples

ROBERT M I N H I N N I C K 1 9 5 2 - , ,. .. :.\'\,\.1\\Salvage , , . M

The Drinking Art . ,- , .-•. .,:After a Friendship ,, ;, .. -.•• > -•, •China 1 8 3 0The Bombing of Baghdad as Seen from an,Electrical . , ; ,

Goods Shop ,, .,One Moment on the Avenida , , . , . . ... , . .The Orchids of Cwm-y-Gaer , - , . . .

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Cymmer AbbeyWorlds

RICHARD GWYN 1956- 755Einkorn, Spelt and EmmerLa VendangeModes of TravelNew Year's Journey

CATHERINE FISHER 1957- 760Severn BoreImmramaPoem for David LewisGwern-y-cleppaThose who Make Paths

OLIVER REYNOLDS 1957- 767Smile, PleaseSelf-PortraitDysgu , .. .DaearyddiaethTo Whom It May ConcernCaveat

GWYNETH LEWIS 1959- , 776The Hedge L" ' ' '' '; " ' ' '" ' '- ' r" '" ' •"" " '' 'Welsh Espionage (extract)

V 'Welsh was the mother tongue, English was his'Advice on Adultery

Mother Tongue J

Angel of Depression ' '

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Zero Gravity (extracts)I 'Prologue'VI 'Last suppers, I fancy, are always wide-screen'

PAUL HENRY 1959- 787Daylight RobberyThe VisitorsHoliday HomeComins CochThe Breath of Sleeping BoysForXand YHouse

FIONA OWEN 1959- 799Boxing with ShadowsAnother Annunciation

STEPHEN KNIGHT 1960- 802Double WritingThe Heart of Saturday NightThe Big ParadeDaedalusElvisAfter Lessons

ANNA WIGLEY1962- ' 810In the Castle GroundsDurer'sTiare 'The Blue Skirtthe Comb *

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