Blaenau Ffestiniog

[dafydd manton]

Blauenau Ffestiniog.


The sharp slate ascends to the sky,
Two shades of grey.
All around lies the evidence of toil.
Waste tips, rusting machinery, cables,
And the echo of the jagged land.
Men worked here, sweated, bled,
Went home at night to cough themselves to sleep,
Poor in body and spirit.
They were proud men,
Men who talked of Mabon,
Of Lloyd-George,
Of Glyndwr.
Men who wanted nothing more
Than a decent wage, a free land
And The Old Language.
Now, their memory echoes in the mountains.
The red kite hovers overhead,
Listens to the whispers
Of the past.
Faded pictures show careworn faces,
Eyes sunken, yet bright,
Burning for the land of their fathers.
Emrys, who hacked out the slate
Dai Bach, who hewed coal
Bryn, who dug gold
Shaped a nation,
Shaped the hills,
Shaped a land
That they would never see.
They shaped a destiny in Gwalia,

Did they die in vain?

[PrinceMyshkin]

This necessitated innumerable searches via Google but I don't regret any of these unfamiliar names... Your love of the land, the people, their history shines through and makes a glorious poem.

[dafydd manton]

Thanks so much, Prince. It was by way of testing the water.....I really wasn't sure. Still not, to be honest. Your comment is most encouraging, so a million thanks.

D

[Delta40]

I love how the land is shaped by the hand of man

[dafydd manton]

Not always for the best, Delta. There are some very ugly scars!! Thanks for reading!

[Delta40]

Not always for the best, Delta. There are some very ugly scars!! Thanks for reading!


without a doubt - and we live with the consequences *dodges a melting icecap*

[hillwalker]

Briliant piece, daf - and for all my love of the unspoilt hills (Snowdonia goes without saying), this is by far my favourite part of North Wales. Cwmorthin in particular seems still haunted with the quarrying that went on hereabouts, and I don't see scars, only callouses.

H

[dafydd manton]

Good way of putting it, Hill. Thanks for your time.

[Maryd.]

Oh Dave, my heart sank with this one. Well done sir.

[dafydd manton]

Thanks, Mary, your comments are always so positive. I realise that I might have put in too many obtuse references, but the emotion doesn't change, for all that.

[neilgee]

You've got more in common with RS Thomas than I thought, Dafy. Excellent poem.

[dafydd manton]

Thomas is one of my heroes, as is Idris Davies. It's a bit of a nod to his Gwalia Deserta, to be honest. Only a bit more northerly - Davies wrote about the Valleys, whilst my heart is in the North.

[Bar22do]

Come late to it and can't read the previous comments so sorry if I repeat something, but it's a wonderful poem, with so much love for the land and such a great tribute to grey (great!) figures of that land... Nothing to add, nothing to lose here, I've re-read it another time right now, it sounds whole! Thanks so very much. I enjoyed the theme, the emotion and the art. Bar

[dafydd manton]

Thanks Bar, your approval means a lot!

[angliholic]

This poem is my favorite of yours!
It's so excellent that it's worth rereading again and again!

You wow me with this one!

Good for you, Daffy!

[dafydd manton]

Thanks so much, Angi, really appreciate that comment. (Oh the indignity of my name becoming that of Daffy Duck! The Shame! Just as well that I rather like it!)

[Lokasenna]

I know Blaenau well, and this poem resounded very powerfully for me. You've captured the feel of the landscape and the town perfectly.

[dafydd manton]

Thanks, Lok.....strange place isn't it....all that slate yet sheep wandering in the streets, and tourists coming in on the Ffestiniog railway gawping at they know not what!!