Editor

Now in solitary confinement for I am unsure how long and with now much time on my hands, I have decided to put pen to paper - no not to do with my usual voluntary writing work but a new pleasant avenue - I have written a poem to pass an hour away:

The Mouth of The Ystwyth

The beauty of this place is not only here for me but all - with the old Penparke hill fort of such beauty sloping steeply to the sea

Two rivers meander from inland to join our Irish sea

Both the Rheidol and the Ystwyth at our harbour you will see

So with the Ystwyth added to the ‘Aber’ that is how our town name came to be

With 13th century castle and grounds that overlook the sea

There is no place that I know of can better this for me

The once funicular now electric 1896 railway travels up and down the Constitutional Hill

Where when looking from the summit fantastic views you will behold your sight to see

Of which no other sea side town could ever truthfully compare or give such magnificent delight to everyone who ascends by rail or climb the height up to there

Just add the murmuration of thousands of starlings taking flight to roost beneath the pier

Why there and with such pattern to me has never really been made really clear

The incoming tide in winter often accompanied by strong wind and rain heading for inland

Now brings mounds of pebbles and shingle off the beaches to form a promenade of sand - now an expected experience as recent nature now demands

All of this together makes what is home to me - beautiful Aberystwyth our little haven by the sea.

Pat Bates, Maes-Maelor Penparcau

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