Wales is the Land of Song. In the words of the national anthem: “Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri,” Land of bards and singers, the eminent of esteem. These words may bring images of ancient wise men and storytellers cloaked in billowing robes with long white beards. They may bring up Medieval figures like Aneurin or Taliesin or modern writers like Dylan Thomas. But there are also multitudes whose names were never enshrined in eminence, whose words served their purpose and retreated into history.

Welsh poetry lives among verdant hills and valleys, in the inheritance of our elders, and in the hearts of all Welsh people. Poetry is a land where we all may roam. It’s a land where we may all find a home.

In recognition of our ancestors who were poets, I’ve been collecting poems and writing stories of the bards who I encounter on my travels through Welsh history. Each post is a short story of times and places where the delicate playfulness of rhyme had use, where regular, everyday people entrusted parts of their soul to short assortments of words.

Click a story below and enjoy!