A WELSHMAN TO ANY TOURIST

We've nothing vast to offer you, no deserts
Except the waste of thought
Forming from mind erosion;
No canyons where the pterodactyl' s wing
Falls like a shadow.
The hills are fine, of course,
Bearded with water to suggest age
And pocked with caverns,
One being Arthur's dormitory;
He and his knights are the bright ore
That seams our history,
But shame has kept them late in bed.






"A Welshman To Any Tourist,"
from Song at the Year's Turning
You can also find this in
COLLECTED POEMS 1945-1990(J.M.Dent, 1993).
Translated by Yoshifum! Nagata

Background image: Hills in Mid Wales, 2003