Shards of Light

190 Pages·2019·2.563 MB·English

by  Humphreys, Emyr

SHARDS
OF LIGHT
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Writing pages:Layout 1 23/6/09 13:39 Page 291
SHARDS
OF LIGHT
Emyr Humphreys
UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS
2018
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© Emyr Humphreys, 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form
(including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether
or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without
the written permission of the copyright owner. Applications for the copyright owner’s
written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to
the University of Wales Press, University Registry, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff
CF10 3NS.
www.uwp.co.uk
Shards of Light
by Emyr Humphreys
poems collected and edited by Dewi Humphreys
cover image by Guto Humphreys
British Library CIP Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-78683-351-8
eISBN 978-1-78683-352-5
The right of Emyr Humphreys to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The publisher acknowledges the financial support of the Welsh Books Council.
Typeset by Marie Doherty
Printed by CPI Antony Rowe, Melksham, Wiltshire
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C O N T E N T S
Introduction xi
M. Wynn Thomas
SHARDS OF LIGHT
We are old age 3
Scratches on stone 4
Bluebells 5
The Funny Bone 6
Childhood 8
Lament for a game of Cowboys and Indians 9
Recollections of Nant Mill 10
More mice than men 11
‘Cousin Swift you will never be a poet’ 12
Job Creation 13
Steel 15
The Art Critic 16
Transparence 17
The Letter Writer 18
Love Song 19
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Silence 20
Civil Unrest 21
Battlefield 24
A Clergyman Muses 26
Poughkeepsie 28
Bird on a Twig 30
Solomon Smiles 31
A Day in Hand 32
Manawydan 33
The Peasant 35
A Dog’s Life 36
To the Sea in a Sieve 37
Sacred Tree 38
The Courteous Dig 39
Wm. Jones Tremadoc 40
Nostalgia 41
The Damned 42
Nid talwrn yw’r byd 44
A Moth at St James’s 46
Brotherhood 48
Jacob’s Coat 49
The Dead 50
Wise Man 52
Jews 53
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Terror 54
Sunday School 55
The House Husband 56
John Elias 1830 66
Making butter – old style 67
The Art of War 69
Marvao 2 70
The Colonel’s Wife 71
Rooftop 73
The Best-Selling Poet 74
Montale Cabinera 75
Survival 76
The Boat 77
More 78
Negative Sermon 82
The Bard 83
Notes on a Page 84
Whispers 85
The Geese of Time 91
Provincial Song 92
Recipe for a Poet 93
Where they are gone 94
A Blessing 95
Wealth 96
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Don’t rush 98
Novelist’s Notes 100
From a Far Country 101
Etruscan Shadows 102
Gododdin 103
Picking up signals 104
The Sag in the Cloth 105
Holy Orders 107
Giving Up 109
The Thirties 110
Elinor getting on 111
Making a Difference 112
Hitler 114
Dictator 115
The Same Old Story 116
First Winter 117
A Political Cry 118
Freedom 119
Hen Gerdd 120
Limp between two languages 122
Lines on an Unsuccessful Politician 123
Poets in Orbit 124
To whom it may concern (1) 125
To whom it may concern (2) 126
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A time before 127
Age 128
Belief 129
Governing Class 130
Floor Litter 131
Battling with the Ego 132
Homework 133
In Lazio 134
Inflammatory Stuff 136
Two of Everything 137
Alternative Routes 138
Being Rational 139
Domestic Scene 140
EP 141
Paddington 143
A Votive Moment 144
Another Route 145
Computing 146
Dictionaries 147
Everyone 148
A Rehearsal 149
An Actress 150
Agostino 151
The Stable 152
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