“A question, O Yoke-all-Craft,
which art will you practise tonight?”
So Gwythyr-the-Bright took out the
harp of Tertiu-the-Melodious from
his craneskin bag, and sang this lay:
“In the name of wisdom:
I will practise metre’s
nurture, fear’s erasure,
and honour’s venture;
with warp of deftness,
weft of genius and
creel of ardent verse;
I will lend spirit to flesh
bring flush to face
mould beauty to mouths
and give wings to insight;
minuscule and mickle
I will dazzle like fire,
hard and high, will flame
the breaths of my desire;
chief revealer of that which is
uttered and that which is asked,
tonight I make naked the word. ”
Extract from Crucible of the Sun: The Mabinogion Retold
By Stuart France
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