Giles Watson's poetry and prose
Elidyr's Portal
ELIDYR
A boy was learning how to read;
His teacher, harsh and cruel,
Beat him when he made mistakes
And made him eat cold gruel.
One day he threw away his book
And ran away outside;
His mother saw him through the window,
Opened it and cried:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
“I’m going to the river, mother
To hide myself away,
And I’ll not see my teacher cruel
For twelve months and a day.”
He came at length up to the bank,
His purpose never doubting,
And upon the chilly air
He heard his mother shouting:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
He put his head into a hole
And found another land,
Where faerie minstrels sang and danced,
A joyful, happy band.
He met a boy of his own age,
And played with a golden ball,
And when a twelvemonth was all gone,
The faerie boy did call:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
He went back home to his mother,
She wept with heartfelt joy,
But when his teacher came next day
She flogged the wayward boy.
And when the twelvemonth was all gone,
He threw away his pen,
And as he ran, he heard his mother
Shouting out again:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
He came upon the river wide
And climbed in through the hole,
With faerie friends he kicked the ball
And scored the winning goal.
But when the twelvemonth was all gone
He stole the golden ball;
He heard the voice of the faerie King,
And quivered at the call:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
“Oh I am going home to mother
With your ball of gold!”
Then out streamed faeries from the hole,
Seven score all told.
They snatched the gold ball back again
And promptly disappeared,
And faerie voices taunted him
As he groped and peered:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
And every year he comes that way,
And searches up and down,
And bitter tears cries he then
For the hole may not be found.
“Oh to play at ball again,
And dance with my lost friends!
Perhaps some day they’ll let me in
So I can make amends.
And when I leave, they’ll cry sweet tears,
And whisper at my going,
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Stay, for it is snowing.”
Source material: Legend narrated by Gerald of Wales, The Journey through Wales, Book 1, Chapter 8.
Elidyr's Portal
ELIDYR
A boy was learning how to read;
His teacher, harsh and cruel,
Beat him when he made mistakes
And made him eat cold gruel.
One day he threw away his book
And ran away outside;
His mother saw him through the window,
Opened it and cried:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
“I’m going to the river, mother
To hide myself away,
And I’ll not see my teacher cruel
For twelve months and a day.”
He came at length up to the bank,
His purpose never doubting,
And upon the chilly air
He heard his mother shouting:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
He put his head into a hole
And found another land,
Where faerie minstrels sang and danced,
A joyful, happy band.
He met a boy of his own age,
And played with a golden ball,
And when a twelvemonth was all gone,
The faerie boy did call:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
He went back home to his mother,
She wept with heartfelt joy,
But when his teacher came next day
She flogged the wayward boy.
And when the twelvemonth was all gone,
He threw away his pen,
And as he ran, he heard his mother
Shouting out again:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
He came upon the river wide
And climbed in through the hole,
With faerie friends he kicked the ball
And scored the winning goal.
But when the twelvemonth was all gone
He stole the golden ball;
He heard the voice of the faerie King,
And quivered at the call:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
“Oh I am going home to mother
With your ball of gold!”
Then out streamed faeries from the hole,
Seven score all told.
They snatched the gold ball back again
And promptly disappeared,
And faerie voices taunted him
As he groped and peered:
The ground outside is hard and cold,
And soon it will be snowing.
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Whither art thou going?
And every year he comes that way,
And searches up and down,
And bitter tears cries he then
For the hole may not be found.
“Oh to play at ball again,
And dance with my lost friends!
Perhaps some day they’ll let me in
So I can make amends.
And when I leave, they’ll cry sweet tears,
And whisper at my going,
Elidyr, dear Elidyr,
Stay, for it is snowing.”
Source material: Legend narrated by Gerald of Wales, The Journey through Wales, Book 1, Chapter 8.