Poems to Ponder

1. Poems to Ponder AAIA Conference Gosforth Park 2010 Selected by Phil Mostert Photo: Mawddach Estuary, Gwynedd

2. Foam - T. Arfon Williams Pan chwery chwa oddi uchod – â’r môr Mae hen angenfilod Y dwfn i’r wyneb yn dod I’w haileni’n wylanod. Each day when the spray blowsbright, - from the deep Monsters rise and surface; They sweep and leap into light, A saga of white seagulls.

3. Christmas- Gerallt Lloyd Owen Wyf heddiw yn rhyfeddu, - wyf ar daith Efo’r doeth i’r beudy, Wyf y sant tyneraf sy’, Ond wyf Herod yfory. Today, in His way I walk, - to the crib Of the Christ I follow; Though I kneel, within I know I am Herod tomorrow.

4. Dacw long yn hwylio’n hwylus Heibio i’r trwyn ac at yr ynys, Os fy nghariad i sydd ynddi, Hwyliau sidan glas sydd arni. There beyond that nose of headland The ship sails on towards the island; If my darling is aboard her There are blue silk sails upon her.

5. Pan fo seren yn rhagori, Fe fydd pawb â’i olwg arni; Pan ddêl unwaith gwmwl drosti, Ni fydd mwyach sôn amdani. People point and marvel nightly When a star is shining brightly. But should a cloud once hide its radiance They soon forget the former brilliance.

6. MEETING IN A LIFT – Vladimir Holan, translated from the Czech We stepped into the lift. The two of us, alone. We looked at each other and that was all. Two lives, a moment, fullness, bliss. At the fifth floor she got out and I went on up Knowing that I would never see her again, That it was a meeting once and for all, That if I followed her I would be like a dead man in her tracks and that if she came back to me It would only be from the other world.

7. COULD HAVE - Wislawa Szymborska It could have happened.It had to happen.It happened earlier. Later.Nearer. Farther off.It happened, but not to you.You were saved because you were the first.You were saved because you were the last.Alone. With others.On the right. On the left.Because it was raining. Because of the shade.Because the day was sunny. You were in luck - there was a forest. You were in luck - there were no trees.

8. COULD HAVE - Wislawa Szymborska You were in luck - a rake, a hook, a beam, a brake, A jamb, a turn, a quarter-inch, an instant...You were in luck – just then a straw went floating by. As a result, because, although, despite. What would have happened if a hand, a foot, Within an inch, a hairsbreadth from An unfortunate coincidence. So you're here? Still dizzy from another dodge, close shave, reprieve? One hole in the net and you slipped through? I couldn't be more shocked or speechless. Listen,how your heart pounds inside me.

9. Un noswaith ddrycinog Un noswaith ddrycinog mi euthum i rodio Ar lannau y Fenai gan ddistaw fyfyrio; Y gwynt oedd yn uchel a gwyllt oedd y wendon, A'r môr oedd yn lluchio dros waliau Caernarfon. Ond trannoeth y bore mi euthum i rodio Hyd lannau y Fenai, tawelwch oedd yno; Y gwynt oedd yn ddistaw, a'r môr oedd yn dirion, A'r haul oedd yn t'wynnu ar waliau Caernarfon.

10. Un noswaith ddrycinog The Walls of Caernarfon - W J Gruffydd One rainswept eventide I went a-walking On the shores of Menai in silent meditation: Loud was the wind and wild was the white billow, And the sea was hurling over the walls of Caernarfon. But on the morrow morn I went a-walking On the shores of Menai, and stillness was on them; Silent was the wind, and kindly was the sea, And the sun was shining on the walls of Caernarfon. Night and Day - R S Thomas One night of tempest I arose and went Along the Menai shore on dreaming bent; The wind was strong, and savage swung the tide, And the waves blustered on Caernarfon side. But in the morrow, when I passed that way, On Menai shore the hush of heaven lay; The wind was gentle and the sea a flower, And the sun slumbered on Caernarfon tower.

11. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN – Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same.

12. The Road not Taken- continued And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.

13. LOSS – Wendy Cope The day he moved out was terrible – That evening she went through hell. His absence wasn’t a problem But the corkscrew had gone as well.

14. BLOODY MEN – Wendy Cope Bloody men are like bloody buses - You wait for about a year And as soon as one approaches your stop Two or three others appear. You look at them flashing their indicators, Offering you a ride. You’re trying to read the destinations, You haven’t much time to decide. If you make a mistake, there is no turning back. Jump off, and you’ll stand there and gaze While the cars and the taxis and lorries go by And the minutes, the hours, the days.

15. THOUGH THERE ARE TORTURERS- Michael Coady Though there are torturers in the world There are also musicians. Though, at this moment, men Are screaming in prisons There are jazzmen raising storms Of sensuous celebration And orchestras releasing Glories of the spirit. Though the image of God Is everywhere defiled A man in West Clare Is playing the concertina, The Sistine Choir is levitating Under the dome of St Peter’s And a drunk man on the road Is singing for no reason.

16. YOUNG GIRL –Jarkko Laine Have you seen a girl, standing in front of the rubbish bin, with a plastic flower in her hair, admiring the rainbow on an asphalt road?

17. SO WE’LL GO NO MORE A ROVING Byron So, we'll go no more a roving So late into the night, Though the heart be still as loving,And the moon be still as bright.For the sword outwears its sheath,And the soul wears out the breast, And the hearth must pause to breathe, And love itself have rest.Though the night was made for loving, And the days return too soon, Yet we'll go no more a roving By the light of the moon.

18. MESSAGE TO THE EDITOR - Patrick Galvin Sir –The Lord pardon the people of this town Because I can’t. When I dropped dead in the street Three weeks ago I thought they’d bury me in style. A state funeral was the least of it With Heads of Government and the Nobility In attendance. I even looked forward to the funeral oration- In Irish With a few words on my past achievements: Our greatest poet, a seat in heaven to the man And how I deserved better. But did I get it? My corpse lay in Baggot Street For a fortnight Before anyone noticed it. And when I was finally removed To the mortuary I was abused by a medical student Who couldn’t open a bag of chips Let alone the body of your greatest poet. Then, to add to the indignity I was pushed into an ice-box And some clod stuck a label on my foot Saying: unknown bard – probably foreign. If it wasn’t for a drunken Corkman

19. Message to the Editor - Patrick Galvin Who thought I was his dead brother I’d still be lying there unclaimed.At least The man had the decency to bury me. But where am I? Boxed in some common graveyard Surrounded by peasants And people of no background. When I think of the poems I wrote And the great prophecies I made I could choke. I can’t write now Because the coffin is too narrow And there’s no light. I’m trying to send this Through a medium But you know what they’re like – Table-tapping bastards Reeking of ectoplasm. If you manage to receive this I’d be glad if you’d print it. There’s no point in asking you To send me a copy- I don’t even know my address.

20. REMEMBER ME - Christina Rossetti Remember me when I am gone away,  Gone far away into the silent land;  When you can no more hold me by the hand,  Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.  Remember me when no more day by day  You tell me of our future that you plann'd:  Only remember me; you understand  It will be late to counsel then or pray.  Yet if you should forget me for a while  And afterwards remember, do not grieve:  For if the darkness and corruption leave  A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,  Better by far you should forget and smile  Than that you should remember and be sad.

21. SPRING – Dic Jones May Day! send me a dove so peaceful, Bearing leaves o’er tempest tearful, Bring beams of sunshine swallow cheerful, To shine on Daisy’s collar wintral, Sing me a negro spiritual – yellow flautist, My concert artist, with notes delightful.

22. We met under a shower of bird-notes. Fifty years passed, love’s moment in a world in servitude to time. She was young; I kissed with my eyes closed and opened them on her wrinkles. ‘Come,’ said death, choosing her as his partner for the last dance. And she, who in life had done everything with a bird’s grace, opened her bill now for the shedding of one sigh no heavier than a feather. A MARRIAGE - R S Thomas

23. ‘THE ECHOES RETURN SLOW'- R S Thomas I look out over the timeless seaover the head of one, calendarto time's passing, who is now openat the last month, her hair wintry.Am I catalyst of her mettle that,at my approach, her grimace of painturns to a smile? What it is saying is:'Over love's depths only the surface is wrinkled.'