The leek will sit with pride upon that hat;
and, yes, a daffodil’s another plant.
The two are often worn, so let us chat
about St David’s Day – or Dewi Sant.
This prelate was a Christian and we know
he was a bishop and the son of Non,
and grandson of a king, said to be so,
that king, we’re told, of Ceredigion.
St David will be found within stained glass.
There’s also a cathedral named for him.
It’s hard to miss St David as we pass
and some will even hum a well-known hymn.
Ah yes, we rather like the daffs and leeks,
could wear the daffs or eat those leeks for weeks.
(1 March 2025)
(appeared in Carmarthen, Wales, UK, library on 1 March, which is St David's Day, St D being the Patron Saint of Wales, d. 589 AD)
(the first day of March)
Am I as lonely as that cloud?
I kneel this early time of day.
The traffic’s quite thin now, not loud,
while I am crouching, seem to pray!
St David’s Day is here, with chills.
That cloud looks down on Wales and hills.
I’m kneeling down upon this grass
to pluck the yellow one to pin
on my lapel now; no feet pass.
I’m brooding here on Wordsworth’s spin
on words that conjure on this hill
my single golden daffodil.
(1 Mar 2024)
(William Wordsworth, English poet, 1770-1850: “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, in which he saw a "host of golden daffodils"; this is the same pattern and rhyme scheme)
St. George May not be English
By Bob Moore(c) 2016
St. George may not be English
but he’s England’s Patron Saint
St. Patrick is Saint of Ireland
but an Irishman he ain’t
St David was a Welshman
but St Andrew, not a Scot
the brother of Saint Peter
so Scottish he was not
St. Denis, Patron Saint of France
an Italian was born,
and Spain has the Virgin Mary
we celebrate that special mom
Most patron saints have helped the country
where they are now revered
to rid the population
of the things they have most feared
Legend says St Patrick
chased the snakes into the sea
whether this is true or not
remains a mystery
And did St George slay all the Dragons?
in England’s pleasant land
or is this just a story
passed down from hand to hand
These legends and these stories
are lost in myth, and history
but there are no snakes in Ireland
and in England, no dragons there be.
Today is St David’s Day here in Wales
Dydd Dewi Sant is what we say
Images it doth portray
Of national dress worn upon this day
St David was a teacher and ascetic
Founder of the monastery Glyn Rhosyn*
Upon his death the fellow monks said
these special words I have chosen
Brothers be ye constant.
The yoke which with single mind ye have taken
bear ye to the end; and whatsoever
ye have seen with me and heard,
keep and fulfil."
*White Roses
Penned by Seren Roberts on March 1 2014 ( Dydd Dewi Sant – St David’s Day)
Emotion - Historical
St David our patron and wearer of daffies
Lynched by the English who named us all Taffies
With our fellow Celts, they feared we would stand
and repel Anglo-Saxons from all British land
But spring-time did come, along with a truce
The trumpets of yellow announcing the news
A change in the seasons, a break in the rain
The daffodils dance in the warm breeze again
*Happy St Davids day for March 1st
Dydd Gwyl Dewi I pawb yn Cymru ar Mawrth 1af*
For Francines Daffodil contest
29th Feb 2012