Ah, you should see Cynddylan on a tractor.
Gone the old look that yoked him to the soil,
He's a new man now, part of the machine,
His nerves of metal and his blood oil.
The clutch curses, but the gears obey
His least bidding, and lo, he's away
Out of the farmyard, scattering hens.
Riding to work now as a great man should,
He is the knight at arms breaking the fields'
Mirror of silence, emptying the wood
Of foxes and squirrels and bright jays.
The sun comes over the tall trees
Kindling all the hedges, but not for him
Who runs his engine on a different fuel.
And all the birds are singing, bills wide in vain,
As Cynddylan passes proudly up the lane.
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Comments
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Been there. Done that!
Labibah-
I think the poem has to do with the farmer shifting from horse-power to tractor-power, and the stress involved in that transition but it all works out for the better.
Charley Noble -
cynddylan on a tractor
From guest labibah (contact)
what does it maen his least bidding and lo he's away -
From guest Roy M (contact)
I came accross this one in first year english at a Liverpool comprehensive school. It has always conjoured up a picture of a man who, worn from tilling the land, now has the upper hand and feels a rising sense of power, albeit somewhat reluctantly, over his hard agricultural environment. -
Pronounciation of Cynddylan
From guest Emrys Jones (contact)
The phonetics in English of Cynddylan would be close to Kuhn-the-lahn -
RS Thomas
From guest Emrys Jones (contact)
RS died a few years ago 2003? He is regarded as one of the great Welsh poets writing in English and a foremost British poet - according to the obituaries in leading British papers at the time.
MOD MESSAGE
Thanks for the update. Unfortunately the system is having problem accepting recent death dates (we are OLD-poetry
) but at least the biog can be corrected. As this one was when he died in the year 2000!
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Oh the memories!!
From guest JD (contact)
I first saw this in 1992-ish, required reading as it was back then...still brings a nostalgic smile to me face, I'll be sure to look it up again in another few years -
cynddylan
From guest The Doc (contact)
the name is pronounced "cunthullan" if you are from south wales. I first found this poem when i was 10 and have been looking for it ever since. Thank you. -
nature
From guest colleen (contact)
he is saying that the man watching synddlan is naot angry at synddlan bt angry at the fact that nature is being destoyed and he dosent notice -
Cynddylan on a tractor
From guest Doug Wilson (contact)
We studied this poem in 1964 at Jordanhill College of Education. I remembered the first three lines and I am delighted now to have the whole poem! How do you pronounce his name? -
Cynddylan on a Tractor
From guest Sarah Johnson (contact)
This poem was on a stunning poster on the classroom door of the English Department at my old School. I walked past it most days and loved to learn another line or two, maybe dreaming... that I too was there, sharing his passion for the countryside. -
a great poem that describe the images like slate - hard and sharp; his style spare, unflinching, honest
Edited on Feb 10, 5:02 because 'I know more'. -
Something of history and tradition appears to have been
destroy by technology, but Cynddylan's character and
self-image has endured. -
This poem is set at a time when modern machinery was still out of the reach of many farmers in rural Wales --especially the older generation .Cynddylan is seen as a man in love with a new and useful toy ---but one which had its downside .It was noisy ---hence the bird song being drowned and it gave an air of fanaticism to the user .Instead of being just an ordinary wageslave , he is now on a mission , like a Knight at arms , but the cost is great to the surrounding fauna .
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