Losses and Gains: Clywedog* (IP)

Cherry

By Rhiannonw

Mon, 10 Feb 2014
  • 5607 reads
19 comments
 

*pronounced Cluh-wed- og
a valley flooded in 1967 by construction of the tallest mass concrete dam in Britain

Lost farms, lost homes,
a harrowing rupture
in relocation;
memories under water:
looking at the lake,
trying lifelong sights
to conjure up, re-capture.

What gains? The dam restrains,
holds back the glut that drains
from winter mountain rains,
and would cause frequent overflow
along the Severn banks below;

and sends it out months later
to quench the summer thirst
in hot and grubby Birmingham
and help the city cater
for its population’s need (and greed?)
not subject to the vagaries of rainfall
and unadjusted variation in the volume
wending daily down the Severn;

true beauty has been lost and drowned,
but something new of beauty has emerged
around and on this tranquil lake,
and hillsides that surround.

[this week's IP: Lost in the flood]

 

Certificate U
Poem
Nature
Nature
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

The poem told me something I did not know before and showed the losses and gains of the giant dam very clearly      Elsie

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Elsie, glad you thought it worked! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Bernard Shaw on

What a shame that natural beauty has to make way for modern projects. I well remember my evacuation period in South Wales, One of the happiest times in my life. Bern. Love the Poem.

bernard shaw

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Bern. I think it is of interest in this case though, that the result has also been a place of beauty – not maybe the dam itself, though that is quite staggering to behold – but the lake is very beautiful in its setting now, and of course most of us don't remember the valley as it used to be, though it must have been lovely also. I'm glad you have happy memories of your time in South Wales.
Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Bee on

Lovely natural flow to this, Rhiannon. Really like this poem and the picture. It looks so peaceful.

Bee

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Bee. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is somewhere I've really enjoyed visiting a few times. And once we stayed at a farm nearby, and the owners' relatives had had to be moved for the forming of the reservoir.
Rhiannon

 

Submitted by VeraClark on

A balanced consideration. It's normal to get bogged down with history and loss but you've salvaged some of that, here on your upside. Lovely language, too.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

thank you so much, Vera. It is a situation I've viewed from various angles (the place, and the aspects of different effects of the changes!), so I'm glad you felt that I'd brought these out and made an enjoyable verse too. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

And thank you for the cherries, Editors too! Nice to see them by Clywedog! Rh

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

An interesting, informative, and beautifully written poem, Rhiannon, enhanced by its excellent rhyming structure, and the picture.

Very, very much enjoyed, and thank you for taking me theresmiley  I enjoyed the journey, no end.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Tina, and I am so glad you enjoyed this visit, and the musings. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Luke Neima on

Loved the sense of redemption that came with the last stanza. Powerful and informative in a way that few poems are. Great response to the IP, rhiannon!

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Luke, I'm glad you thought so. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

A really informative poem Rhiannon.  You certainly gave a lot of thought to this one,  which paints a very vivid picture.

Congrats on the well deserved cherries.

Jenny.  yes

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Jenny, and I'm glad you found it so. Nice to hear from you. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Denzella on

Hello Rhiannon,

This is one of  your lovlies too.  One that I can relate to as we once lived near Hanningfield resevoir in Essex which is supposed to have flooded a village and the locals used to talk of seeing the church spire when the water level was low.

Moya.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Glad you enjoyed the read, Moya. Thank you. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by jeand on

Hi Rhiannon

A lovely poem, with lots of history in it. There was a village flooded near here, too, and the story was part of a dramatization on BBC 1 recently - The Village. When one drinks the pure clean water from the reservoir that resulted from the flooded village, you forget the pain that was caused.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

thank you, Jean. When we see the real beauty now, we can forget that it was a beautiful valley before, which was what the lady we stayed with reminded me. there are also the benefits to water supply and flooding prevention too. Rhiannon