Welsh Incident
By Robert Graves
This has been copied from "Collected Poems 1959" and is reproduced with permission of A.P.Watt Ltd on behalf of the Robert Graves Copyright Trust.
"But
that was nothing to what things came out
From the sea-caves of Criccieth yonder."
"What were they? Mermaids?
dragons? ghosts?"
"Nothing at all of any
things like that."
"What were they, then?"
"All
sorts of queer things,
Things never seen or heard or written
about,
Very strange, un-Welsh, utterly peculiar
Things. Oh solid enough they seemed to
touch,
Had anyone dared it. Marvellous creation,
All various shapes and sizes, and no
sizes,
All new, each perfectly unlike his
neighbour.
Though all came moving slowly out
together."
"Describe just one of them."
"I
am unable."
"What were their colours?"
"Mostly
nameless colours
Colours you would like to see; but one
was puce
Or perhaps more like crimson, but not
purplish
Some had no colour."
"Tell
me, had they legs?"
"Not a leg nor foot among
them that I saw."
"But did these things come
out in any order?"
What o'clock was it? What was the
day of the week?
Who else was present? How was the
weather?"
"I was coming to that. It
was half past three
On Easter Tuesday last. The sun was
shining.
The Harlech Silver Band played Marchog
Iesu
On thirty-seven shimmering instruments,
Collecting for Caernarvon's (Fever)
Hospital Fund.
The populations of Pwllheli, Criccieth,
Portmadoc, Borth, Tremadoc,
Penrhyndeudraeth,
Were all assembled. Criccieth's mayor
addressed them
First in good Welsh and then in fluent
English.
Twisting his fingers in his chain of
office,
Welcoming the things. They came out on
the sand,
Not keeping time to the band, moving
seaward
Silently at a snail's pace. But at last
The most odd, indescribable thing of all,
Which hardly one man there could see for
wonder,
Did something recognizably a something."
"Well what?"
"It made a
noise."
"A
frightening noise?"
"No, no."
"A musical noise? A
noise of scuffling?"
"No, but a very loud,
respectable noise -
Like groaning to oneself on Sunday
morning
In chapel, close before the second psalm."
"What did the mayor do?"
"I was coming to that."
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