Hiraeth
A dirge for the departed
Image: Zivah Avraham
Hiraeth Hiraeth Cymru am byth in these stones lieth rain, never-ending turning streams into rivers turning the wheel the wheel the wheel breaking the stones the bones the bones silver and lead bring out your dead count them count them bring out your dead Hiraeth Hiraeth Cymru am byth work them to death for a crust of dark bread darken the doorsteps with the smuts on your breath put them in barracks work them to death poison their bodies with deadening lead filling their pockets with bones and dread Cymru am byth here, there lieth the boys and the men the drowned and the bloated for the silver and lead Hiraeth Hiraeth Cymru am byth for the silver and lead bring out your dead turning them over for the silver and lead count them recount them we walk on the blood of the boys and the men of the gone and the dead bring out your dead cast in silver and lead Hiraeth Hiraeth in these stones lieth pray, a moment of silence let them sing, witness the troubles they had Gwlad, Gwlad, pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad Hiraeth Hiraeth Cymru am byth
This is a story of the part of Wales where I have made my home. It is luscious, green, mountainous, sparsely populated and beautiful. In many of the valleys you can find the remains of industry. The area was a major centre for silver and lead mining from Roman times until the nineteenth century — noisy, dangerous and dirty. This poem focuses on what went before and is a reminder that the men and boys involved in this industry were not working for the enrichment of Wales, but for the enrichment of their employers, who were often English. I have included some of the beautiful Welsh language in this poem — please see the translations below. Hiraeth — there is no direct translation, but it is similar to longing, sorrow, homesickness, a pull on the heartstrings. It is particularly relevant to longing for your home, in this case, Wales. Cymru am byth — Wales for ever. It is also the motto of the Welsh Guards, formed in 1915. Gwlad, Gwlad, pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad — “Land! Land! I am true to my land!” This is the first line of the chorus of the Welsh national anthem, Land of My Fathers.
If reading this impacted you and you have the means to do so, you can buy me a coffee - fair warning, I’ll buy books! Or notebooks. Or stationery.
And… Or… you can do this!
I sensed the word even before I learned its meaning. Next, I'm going to Google some more.
You make me feel things I didn't even know I was capable of feeling - this deeply, that is.
This is beautiful and sad. It definitely pulled on my heartstrings. You were able to hit the core of real lives inside the industry of their grueling jobs with your poetic, sing-song, message. The splashes of Welsh throughout give it a deep touch. What went on beneath the beauty that is visible to the outside.