03/08/2008

Poems & Politics: Do you remember 1926?

Now that Normal Mouth is no longer available to argue with about the importance of literature and the arts in Welsh politics, I have decided to make the occasional Poems and politics post, linking great poems to the issues of the day.

This first one is influenced by Charlie Mark's post about the Prison Officers Union's call for a General Strike.

It is a part of Idris Davies' long poem Gwalia Deserta

Do you remember 1926?

Do you remember 1926? That summer of soups and speeches,
The sunlight on the idle wheels and the deserted crossings,
And the laughter and the cursing in the moonlit streets?
Do you remember 1926? The slogans and the penny concerts,
The jazz bands and the moorland picnics,
And the slanderous tongues of famous cities?
Do you remember 1926? The great dream and the swift disaster,
The fanatic and the traitor, and more than all,
The bravery of the simple, faithful folk?
'Ay, ay, we remember 1926,' said Dai and Shinkin,
As they stood on the kerb in Charing Cross Road,
'And we shall remember 1926 until our blood is dry.'

5 comments:

  1. As the recent news from the Eisteddfod demonstrate, mixing poetry and prose can be fatal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't remember 1926,
    but you certainly will...
    you were probably in your sailor suit, am I right? ;-)

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  3. My contribution, Alwyn

    The Bloggers' Dance

    Are you still dancing
    Across the pages of the Web,
    Where thought spins ever-decreasing circles,
    And words spill like matchsticks
    On empty ears?

    Whatever happens to those words
    Scattered in poetic juxtaposition,
    And strewn around the archives of the blogs
    Which flame and fall like shooting stars
    And then expire?

    Or are you dancing to a different tune,
    Where words and thoughts do not proliferate,
    Where dance becomes the vehicle
    Of the soul, and so inflames the being
    With lust for life?


    Alan

    ReplyDelete
  4. We blogged on Idris Davies last year:
    http://cardiffrespect.blogspot.com/2007/07/socialism-proposes-transformation-of.html

    And some other choice cutlets:
    http://cardiffrespect.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry

    In solidarity,

    The LEFT Alternative

    ReplyDelete
  5. What about the Welsh Red Poets - they have some excellent stuff
    and of course Graeme Davies

    ReplyDelete