Wonderful poems, starting with Clarke's viewing of a "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse in 2019, an ominous precursor to her reflections on the COVID pandemic, a reminder of the unnecessary deaths, the silence of those taken by the virus, the silence of those in power regarding those deaths, and the gradual quietening of the world during lockdown and the temporary resurgence of the natural world.

The poems gradually turn to the changing of seasons, reminiscences of the poet's childhood, her mother, the Welsh name her father wanted for her, Gwenllian, connecting her with Llewellyn's daughter and her sad fate at the hands of the English. In her 87th year, Clarke's writing remains as powerful as ever.

I l always earn something of Welsh culture from Clarke's poetry, this time about penillion music, which sent me to some wonderful recordings on You Tube of Welsh harpist and singer, Ossian Ellis. ( )