To Be Welsh in Gower
To be Welsh in Gower is to spell it funny
and pronounce it worse: Gŵyr.
It’s to know how to say Pwll Ddu.
It’s meeting the cows in the lane to Brandy Cove
and knowing them all by name and reputation,
which one kicks, which one gores,
when to walk in the middle of the lane,
and when to jump for the safety of the hedge.
It’s to know the difference between the twin farmers
Upper Jones and Lower Jones.
It’s to recognize their sheepdogs, Floss and Jess,
and to call them with their different whistles.
It’s knowing the time of day by sun and shadow.
It’s knowing the tide is in or out
by the salt smell in the air
without ever needing to see the sea;
and now, in this far off land,
it’s hearing your stomach growl
for caws wedi pobi, crempog or teisen lap
whilst memory’s fish-hook tugs at your heart
like your father tugged at salmon bass,
fishing from the sand-pebbled beach
at Rhossili, Pennard, or Three Cliffs.
rogermoorepoet 
Wonderful! I love these Welsh poems! Ok, is it “Pu will-h Thoo” ? 😀 I’m sending my book to you today!
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I will look out for book and I will happily sign it. I’ll include a couple of earlier books when I send it back. As for the pronunciation: Pull+th Dee … that’s the closest in English phonetic spelling. Pwll = pool and Ddu = black. There’s also a Blackpill along the Swansea sea shore line. There’s an old Roman bridge there, or was, years ago.
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Ah! Thank you so much! Such a beautiful language… One day, I hope to visit!
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Beautiful…just love this. Welsh is a fascinating tongue to listen to.
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Just my Anglo-Welsh poems, à la Dylan Thomas. It’s partly the sound of Welsh blended in to the English language. I am not a Welsh speaker. But I sometimes speak English with a Welsh accent and a Welsh rhythm and lilt.
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Nice work on reworking on welsh poems.res.sir.when will those poems publish?
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No publishing date as yet, Aruna, but hopefully by Christmas. There’s still a lot of work to do on them. Thank you for your interest and support.
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Amen.
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Amazing dt gover.wondeful lines.
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Beautiful sentiments!
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Thank you. I have started reworking my Welsh poems: they have lain fallow for some time, but I am digging out the old ones and adding some new ones. I’ll put some more up, bit by bit.
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Looking forward to reading them!
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What an incredibly evocative poem Roger! It really touched me. ONe of my favourites ever!
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Thank you so much Julie. You must come and visit me and I’ll make sure you try my caws wedi pobi and crempog. My teisen lap isn’t as good as it used to be: I haven’t made it for a while. But the other two are firm favorites. I have about 28 recipes in my head for caws, all good, all different. I should add that I use some of them when making the cheese for cauliflower cheese.
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