Influence 

(My father’s family hail from Blaenau Ffestiniog,
which is overlooked by the Moelwyn mountains.) 

In these screes, I cannot see
a sign of my ancestry,
or find, in this slump of slates
their chisel strokes, undated,…
nor find their names, their faces,
their gravestones, – a single trace.
And yet, my father’s fathers
are in my bones, and they are
the tumbled rocks. They swear and sing,
a catch in my own breathing.
The metres of this country
are stone on stone inside me. 

Translated by Elin ap Hywel

Contact Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Not readable? Change text.

Start typing and press Enter to search