Seagulls

Seagull cries over Cardigan Bay Remembering all that fateful day A spell cast by Dylan beneath the sea Wave comes fast to steal away...

Journey to Art

They say he was born with it, as colours fit on the boards. The practice of many years, hiding tears, with no rewards...

Annwfn

At table the plates are full And Grandma Jones knows the rule Watching them eat plates still full As around the hook goes wool...

Spark the Flame

Each lesson learned is one small spark that sets the mark of our flame, Now our knowledge we should share, with no care for love or fame...

Shades of Autumn

As autumn brings vibrant shades the sun fades towards year’s end. Trees of green now golden red, their leaves shed and colours blend...

Byr A Thoddaid Notes

The Byr a Thoddaid is a quatrain stanza. Each quatrain is divided into two combined couplets.One couplet consists of two eight-syllable lines with an end rhyme. The other couplet consists of a ten-syllable line followed by a six-syllable line. The ten-syllable line has a rhyme near the end of the line which alliterates, rhymes, consonance …

Twenty One?

Fireworks brighten the night sky, reason why? To honour you. I believe that to be so, my nan’s show, surely it’s true...

Pen and Pain

All night sat alone again Repeats like an old refrain Writer wonders what he’ll gain Ink and ideas are his pain...

Ravaged Ice

In winter’s claws, all is white from frost’s bite and the snow. Set the fire, love, in the hearth, warm the bath, and feel love’s glow...

#Writephoto – Brother Stone

How long has it been In these fields of green So proud to be seen Both then and now...

Kings of Fingers

Ancient title proclaimed in old tales A man to be king of barren vales...

Elphin and the Boy

Fishing lines were bare Heart filled with despair But a child found there So it shall be...

Awdl Gywydd Notes

A Welsh form, the Awdl Gywydd consists of four-line stanzas, each line containing seven syllables.The last syllable of lines 1 and 3 rhyme with the 3rd-5th syllable of their following lines. The 2nd and 4th lines also rhyme. xxxxxxaxxaxxxbxxxxxxcxxcxxxb Example Afanc and the Fool by Jez Farmer A mysterious creatureSaid to lure the fools to …

Ae Freislighe Notes

The Ae Freislighe (pronounced ‘ay freshly) is an Irish syllabic quatrain stanza form. Each line is seven syllables with lines one and three ending with a triple rhyme and two and four with a double rhyme. The entire poem should end as it began with a repetition (a dunadh) of the first syllable, word, phrase, …

Poet’s Desire

My darling, let your voice be soft As you lead my thinking aloft...

Radiant Brow

From the mystic valleys of Wales He came to tell histories tales...

Audition

At first glance They look the same as they dance Swirling and turning tutus Can we choose just one by chance...

Year and a Day

And the seasons turn, fading bloom With vibrant colours amid gloom From spiralling autumn days winter comes To numb the sun’s last rays...

Love in Three

To consider love in three ways Keep it simple is what I says The first is that my heart is given freely...

Old Gods, My Gods

Pagan am I since time began Old gods Pagan I dance the circle in their hand My gods Pagan...

Mischief-maker

Form: Seadna For turning his back on OdinHe earned the fury of ThorBrothers fighting god against godBefore the gods in old lore ©JGFarmer2021

Asymptomatic

Form: cywydd deuair hirion Is it a reason to frownA year spent in a lockdownProtecting family and friendsToo many say it dependsI want to do this and thatCovid is just some old chatSelfish acts then they get fined‘That’s unfair and so unkindBut look I didn’t get sickYet my friends were not so quickThe common factor …

Mari Lwyd

Avoid the drunken oafs at play Who cuss and curse before they pray I see in them no sweet delight...

Solstice Night

Longest night As we dance in new-born light We hail the king of the sun...

Amaethon

Form: Rannaicheacht Bheag Blessed ploughman, the god of fields dressedDivine child of a goddess, blessedOf prodded earth his hands sealed questTo yield harvest gods’ blessed ©JGFarmer2020

Spell casting

I long to cast magic’s spell, know thee well in autumn’s night. A wish just for thee, my heart...

Afallach

Form: Deibhidhe Golden apples gracing treesA son of Avalon seesFalling leaves as fate takes holdAmid autumn’s leaves of gold ©JGFarmer2020

Lady of Flowers

Goddess born of floral bloom Spring beauty on witch’s broom...

Three Roses

Roses, a gift from me heart to show in art I love ye. Each bloom presents part of me...

Dragon’s Breath

Somewhere sings a lover’s song Beneath sheets of velvet dreams Fantasy and love gone wrong...

Howl

Do not fear his cry tonight Hear his song without your fright...

Unison

I hear the sweet gentle voice calling me It is my heart’s rejoice For now, love has made its choice...

Colours Change

The seasons turned, summer passed The cricket games came and went As colours change the trees blast...

From Time Gone By

In old tales of Wales, we see Bards through the Mabinogi Myth and magic come to be...

The Dream of Macsen Wledig

In his dreams, she came, a lovely maiden Fading fast as he awoke And so to his men he spoke..

Echo in a Hollow

From the realms of death, he came With tales to tell and exclaim So poets echo his name...

It Started with a Kiss 2020

Poet’s Note: A rewrite of my 2008 poem was suggested by an Irishman to a Welshman – so combining Irish and Welsh forms here – let the fun begin

Cewri

Idris king of mountains high His chair reaching to the sky...

Ceffyl Dŵr

Old legends of a water horse From beneath Welsh waterfalls, of course Rarely seen and fades in the mist...

Bendith y Mamau

She is speaking, our Great Mother Not blessings or love to smother Her other messages unheard...

Bwbach

By the fireside, there sits he A friendly soul come by thee There he sits darning a sock...

Tylwyth Teg

The fairest fae Or so they say Longs for a child...

Afanc and the Fool

A mysterious creature Said to lure the fools to swim The pretty pool at Conwy

Bran

The king stands tall To save his child A maiden mild

Pwyll and Rhiannon

Old Celtic tales echo o’er vales Pwyll, prince of Wales called for one year

Raven’s Wings

Form: Hir a Thoddaid The snow falls softly on this winter night As the magical dreams begin their flight In the darkness the world of inner sight

Restoration

Form: Gwawdodyn hir Like tears it comes to ease guilt and pain And wash away the last teary stain So exhausted I can sleep again

October Chill

Form: Gwawdodyn To walk along the forest path now Amid the vibrance of every bow

A King’s Love

Form: Cyrch a chwta I won’t be back home tonight I’m bidding farewell to light Of summer days that shined bright

Summer Stillness

Form: Cyhydedd Naw Ban It is in the stillness of the noon Without wind there sings a gentle rune The god of the Sun calling his moon