The Welsh peninsula makes England look like it's nine months pregnant. I'm just say-in'
The green covered mountains of Wales come out of a story book. The winding roads, the tree covered hills and deserted castles seem as though they were written, not carved into existence. The lush landscape has inspired many writers throughout the ages including my favorite Welsh author, Richard Llewellyn. Llewellyn was inspired to write his novel,
"How Green Was My Valley," because he saw his once beautiful homeland become a slave to coal.
Coal mining and the conquering of Wales by Edward I (known of the first prince of Wales) are the historical events most people associate with Wales. While coal mining and the subjugation of the Welsh people are important aspects of their history, these events fail to capture the true spirit of the Welsh. The lush mountains, which contain natural treasures like coal and grass for pasture, allowed the Welsh to develop a distinct culture.
How can you not find this serene?
When the Angles and the Saxons invaded Britain in the late 7th and early 8th century, they were unable to conqueror the people living in Wales. The mountains proved a formidable barrier and a beautiful refuge for the surviving Celts. This isolation allowed the Welsh to develop a separate language, culture and identity from the Celts living under Anglo/Saxon rule. During the "Dark Ages," the Welsh identity emerges in stark contrast to the Anglicized Celts.
Wales remained independent of England until the 13th century and was unified by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, the great-great grandson of Rhodri The Great, who defeated the Vikings in 856 AD. After Llywelyn's death in 1063, Wales was ripped apart by rival factions. These wounds would never heal and two centuries later Wales would become part of England. The years of isolation, however, cemented the Welsh identity that remains as long as the mountains stand.
In honor of Wales and her history, I wrote a poem. I hope you enjoy!
Decay, pallid clouds hover, a dreary mist, a pungent odor wet and corroded,
I, once glorious and green, moans, shrieking, chiseling, hammering,
The mine within in me, now a hollow memory.
Millions of years, I was molded by the earth,
Out of the dust I rose and witnessed the greatness and sorrows of her people,
The Celts tamed the mountain ranges, filled the valleys with song and traversed the seas,
Romans, Angles, Saxons and Normans raided the countryside,
The Romans established Caerwent and Carmarthen,
The Angles, Saxons, and Normans purged the countryside of her honor.
Out of the darkness a great kingdom,
Gruffudd ap Cynan and his son Owain surrounded me with greatness,
Poetry, music filled my ears,
Life replaced death, knowledge replaced ignorance.
My earth was tainted once more,
Succession struggles, King John’s interference,
Lamentations, Lamentations,
Llewellyn ap Gruffudd conquers all of Wales,
Lamentations, Lamentations, Death, Demise,
Edward II, 1284, rummaged and rampaged, scourged and raped my soil.
Wales, promised a king who was born in Wales and spoke no English,
In return, gained a royal, Edward
1586, full union did occur with England,
Wales, laws, customs and language threatened,
Goodbye Gwynedd, goodbye Llywelyn,
Goodbye Kings of old, rest in peace,
May your voices carry over the mountains and fill the people with your spirit.
Coal, discovered, in my bowels,
Wrenching, blinding pain,
Frenzied picks, axes, clanging, clamoring, digging through my intestines,
Sludge fills my face and corrupts my soul,
What was once green, is now dead, dead…
Now I am alone, except for the trapped souls within me,
Their songs, their energy, their joys and sorrows, entombed in my labyrinth.
At night I can hear voices, haunting and taunting my sorrows.
My bare stomach growls, I look to the moon and weep.
