THE Bloodaxe Book OF MODERN WELSH

20th-century Welsh-language poetry in translation

edited by MENNA ELFYN & JOHN ROWLANDS

BLPDDAX6 BOOKS Contents

16 Introduction by JOHN ROWLANDS 28 Notes on translators T Gwynn Jones (1871-1949) 31 Argoed 36 Pro Patria 39 The Meal 40 Humanity Dyfnallt (1873-1956) 44 Hour of Fear TE Nicholas (1879-1971) 46 To a Sparrow 46 Caernarfon Circus, 1969 I DHooson (1880-1948) 47 The Flame 48 The Red Poppy Dewi Emrys (1881-1952) 48 Pwllderi W J Gruffydd (1881-1954) 51 This Poor Man 52 The Yew of Llanddeiniolen 53 1914-1918 The Young to the Old 54 Gwladys Rhys Isfoel (1881-1968) 56 The Tractor Willfan (1882-1968) 57 In Porthcawl 57 The Vale of My Youth R Williams Parry (1884-1956) 59 Spring 60 Hedd Wyn 61 The Geese 62 A E Housman 63 Pagan 63 JSL 64 1937 64 The Strangeness of Dawn 65 The Propaganda of the 65 Mortality 66 The Old Boatman Hedd Wyn (1887-1917) 67 War 67 The Black Blot TH Parry-Williams (1887-1975) 68 Barrenness 68 Ty'r Ysgol 69 Llyn y Gadair 69 This One 70 Conviction 71 Two Poems 73 From a Travel Diary 73 The Girl on the Quay at Rio 74 Life 75 A Christmas Carol 76 Return (1893-1985) 77 A Vineyard Placed in My Care 78 Scene in a Cafe 79 The Deluge, 1939 82 Ascension Thursday 82 Mary Magdalen 84 Et Homo Factus Est, Crucifixus. 85 Chance Child 86 Prayer at the End Cynan (1895-1970) 87 Monastlr 88 The Prodigal Son AlunCilie (1897-1975) 91 The Old Chapel Gwenallt (1899-1968) 93 Dartmoor 94 Adrift 94 Wales 95 Sin 95 Rhydcymerau 97 The Hedgehog 97 The Depression 98 The Dead Prosser Rhys (1901-45) 100 Memory Iorwerth Peate (1901-82) 101 NantyrEira 102 Roncesvalles 103 Museum Piece 103 Airstrip St Athan J Kitchener Davies (1902-52) 104 The Sound of the Wind that is Blowing R Bryn Williams (1902-81) 111 Patagonia J M Edwards (1903-78) 113 The Few 114 Christmas in Europe: 1945 T Rowland Hughes (1903-49) 115 Hymn 116 CribGoch 116 Salem Gwilym R Jones (1903-93) 117 The Quiet Valley Caradog Prichard (1904-80) 120 Earthly Turmoil 123 The Bargain Waldo Williams (1904-71) 125 Preseli 126 A Summer Cloud 127 Welsh and Wales 128 After the Mute Centuries 129 What Is a Man? 130 In Two Fields 131 A Young Girl 132 Three English and England 133 Die Bibelforscher Euros Bowen (1904-88) 134 The Nightingale 135 Nettles in May 136 The Power of Song 136 The Youth of the Language 137 In Chartres Aneirin Talfan Davies (1909-80) 138 I Looked You in the Face Last Night 139 Books (1911-96) 140 When I Was a Boy 141 I Was with Ulysses 143 Ave Atque Vale 144 The Dung Beetle J Gwyn Griffiths (b. 1911) 146 There Are Limits to Brotherly Love 146 Rosa Mystica 147 Two Are Embracing 148 Parasites Gwilym R Tilsley (1911-97) 149 An Ode in Praise of the Coalminer WRP George(b. 1912) 150 Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon Harri Gwynn (1913-85) 151 The Creature Moses Glyn Jones (1913-94) 159 The Old Light 160 The Living Spring 160 The Candle's Fly 161 Sand-time Measuring Alun Llywelyn- Williams (1913-88) 162 When I Was a Boy 163 On a Visit 165 In Berlin - August 1945 Geraint Bowen (b. 1915) 168 Ode in Praise of the Farmer Eluned Phillips (b. 1915?) 169 Ties Rhydwen Williams (1916-97) 175 Dogs 177 Mountain Streams Dyfnallt Morgan (1917-94) 184 The Curtain J Eirian Davies (1918-98) 189 Bafflement 190 The Black Thorn 190 Hard Song Emyr Humphreys (b. 1919) 192 On the Guincho 193 Poughkeepsie John Roderick Rees (b. 1920) 194 Brenin Gwalia Gareth Alban Davies (b. 1926) 195 The Wild Geese 196 The Chilean People 197 Christmas Card to a Friend Who Might Be Dead 199 Death in Venice 200 Time's Muteness 200 Incomers T Glynne Davies (1926-88) 201 The Bailiff 203 Ruins 206 Caernarfon, July 2, 1969 Einion Evans (b. 1926) 207 Gadafi's Little Daughter John FitzGerald (b. 1927) 207 The House Beyond 208 God in Hiding, God in Faith 209 There Is But One True Friend 209 Great Little One 210 Being (Human) James Nicholas (b. 1928) 211 The Bush Bobi Jones (b. 1929) 212 Having Our Tea 213 Pregnant Woman 214 The South Shore (Aberystwyth) 215 The Women at the Pit-head 216 The Conversation of the Deaf 217 Portrait of an Overpopulated Woman 218 The Chestnut Tree Deciding to Fly in May Emrys Roberts {b. 1929) 221 Primo Levi Dafydd Rowlands (1931-2001) 222 The Little Boots 224 Schutzstaffeln 45326 225 The Village 227 Cricket 228 Archipelago 228 Sawing His Wife in Half Bryan Martin Davies (b. 1933) 229 Blue 230 Widow 231 Snow in 232 Berne 233 Consideration Die Jones (b. 1934) 235 Reaping 236 Lamentation 237 On Seeing a Dead Lamb 238 Harvest and Spring R Gerallt Jones (1933-99) 240 For Ewan McLachlan 241 Geese at Gregynog 242 Yasnaya Polyana 243 To Derek Walcott 244 The Nurse T James Jones (b. 1934) 245 Dylan 246 Dyfed Devastated? 247 Thursday 248 Face to Face T Arfon Williams (1935-98) 249 Quarry 249 Foam 250 May 250 One-day Snow Eirwyn George (b. 1936) 251 Family Gwyri Thomas (b. 1936) 252 Killer Dog 253 Microscope 254 Horses 254 The Nativity Play 256 The Welsh-speaking Welsh 256 The Last Things 257 For 257 Greetings Gwynne Williams (b. 1937) 258 Oak Tree 259 Winemaking 260 After the Exam Gilbert Ruddock (1938-98) 261 To a Blind Mother 262 Double-decker Donald Evans (b. 1940) 263 Wales '99 264 The Rubbish Tip 264 Pig Killing Day 265 The People 267 Creation Dewi Stephen Jones (b. 1940) 267 Diptych 269 The Coat 270 The House 271 Last Window 271 In the Beautiful Glass Meic Stevens (b. 1942) 272 Sylvia Dafydd Iwan (b. 1943) 274 Why Snow is White Derec Llwyd Morgan {b. 1943) 275 Bow and Arrow 276 Registering the Little One Meirion Pennar (b. 1944) 279 Reading Croce 279 Ecce Homo 280 Lovers 281 Branches of a Mabinogi Gerallt Lloyd Owen (b. 1944) 283 The Shame of Llanfaes 283 Cilmeri 284 The Man on the Horizon 285 Inheritance 285 To the Death Nesta Wyn Jones (b. 1946) 286 Voices 287 Poppies 288 Shadows 289 Scream! 290 Beaches D Cyril Jones (b. 1947) 292 Letters to a Kenyan Friend Robat Powell (b. 1948) 295 For Jurij Koch 296 Heysel Alan Llwyd (b. 1948) 297 The Hawk Above Felindre 298 The Bull of Bryncelyn 300 The Scream: Edvard Munch (1893) 300 Our Godless Days 301 The 302 The Moons of Llyn 303 Chaplin and Others Gwynn ap Gwilym (b. 1950) 306 Penyberth 307 The Badger Geraint Jarman (b. 1950) 306 Dad and Me 307 The Wood Einir Jones (b. 1950) 310 Shadows of Trees on the Lawn, January 311 Ffynnon Grandis 312 Snowdonia after Chernobyl 313 The Picture 314 Cockles 314 Grey Menna Elfyn {b. 1951) 315 Cell Angel 317 Driver 318 The Theology of Hair 319 Couplings 319 Nothing but Curves 321 Rice Papers 322 Broadway Morning Sion Eirian (b. 1954) 324 The Pain 324 My Dad versus Ginsberg 325 Adolescent Experiences Carmel Gahan (b. 1954) 329 asking for it Huw Jones {b. 1955) 330 Mannyelanong Geraint L0vgreen (b. 1955) 331 The First Day 332 Life's Dovey Junctions Mihangel Morgan (b. 1955) 333 Unidentified Flying Object on an Errand of Love 335 Conversation 335 Red High-heeled Shoes 337 The Legend of the Baker and her Daughter Myrddin ap Dafydd (b. 1956) 338 'A Language is only Words' 339 The Poet's Insurance Risk 340 Gwenllian 341 The War Cabinet Sion Aled (b. 1957) 342 Weather Forecast 343 Tracks of Longing 344 Sunset Over Llyn Dylan Iorwerth (b. 1957) 345 Sand I wan Llwyd (b. 1957) 349 Sure, you can ask me a personal question 350 No Man's Land 351 The Disappeared 353 Fingerprints 355 Dust Truck Blues 355 The Old Photograph Emyr Lewis (b. 1957) 356 Drivel 359 A Once-in-a-lifetime, Never-to-be-repeated Cywydd 360 Freedom 361 Dawn Gwyneth Lewis {b. 1959) 363 White Horse 364 The Mapmaker's Song 364 The Language Murderer 367 Wholeness 369 Strip-tease Ifor ap Glyn (b. 1961) 370 The Cucumbers of Wolverhampton 372 Englyns 373 I'm the Guy with the Gut Sonia Edwards (b. 1961) 375 An Empty Place 376 Between Two Lovers Aled Lewis Evans (b. 1961) 377 Alone Elin ap Hywel (b. 1962) 380 Thing 381 Understanding Light 382 In My Mother's House 383 Blue 384 Goddesses Meirion Maclntyre Huws (b. 1963) 385 Window 386 Conscience 387 The City 388 Coat Gerwyn Wiliams (b. 1963) 389 My Wales? 390 Final Curtain 391 Forward March 391 Washington 392 Pledge Grahame Davies (b. 1964) 393 DIY 394 Waste 396 Liverpool 396 Rough Guide 397 Red Llion Jones (b. 1964) 398 Illusions Mererid Hop wood (b. 1964) 402 Rebirth Tudur Dylan Jones (b. 1965) 406 The Great Glasshouse at the National Botanic Garden of Wales 406 Gardening Elin Llwyd Morgan (b. 1966) 409 The Contemporary Jezebel 410 Schizo de Picasso 411 Your Ostrich Nature Ceri Wyn Jones (b. 1967) 413 Honour 414 Influence 414 Legacy Elinor Wyn Reynolds (b. 1970) 418 I Had a Really Good Idea for a Poem in Cynwil Elfed 419 The Night I Won the Crown in the National of My Dreams Mererid Puw Davies (b. 1970) 420 Over a Drink 421 Computers Are Poets too 422 A Poet on 'Poets on Poets': And Other Poems

425 Notes 444 Acknowledgements 446 Index of Poets and Translators