On leaving the valley (an impromptu poem)

Cardiff is where I am from
Its streets once paved with hearts of gold

Still everyone calls you love
Across the valley
Invisible lights strung along invisible cables

Radiate a warmth that carries a local love
And in this expansive land
Where coastlines and mountains meet
Welsh is its first language

That speaks of tales of old
A country whose gentle heart beats

With a strength that holds more than daffodils and sheep
It’s its beauty, peace and enduring grit

That keeps these nerves unsplit and stems this foreign heart’s bleeding

Thanks to Arts Council Wales for their continued support and for helping me realise this newsletter through Creative Steps funding, diolch yn fawr.