| PENN AN WLAS | LAND'S END |
| Pol Hodge | trans. Pol Hodge (from Cornish) |
|
Diworth an golonn briek ha war-tu ha'n west ni eth. Dew gansblydhen diwedhes rag Dolly Pentreath* goth mes gans pymthek milder gesys an 'by-pass' Lulynn a veu kemmerys. Penn an fordh o Sen Senan. Deg ha tri ugens diner! (Nyns esa an vorladron saw yn Pennsans). Avel an moyha ughel, rag an moyha west an troelergh o motorfordh poran avel Skafell Pike. Gans perghennoryon nowydh hag yn-dann weder dewblek, ni a evas koffi hwerow du ha kola yn hanaf hebleth. Ha'n gwiryonedh a'm dallhas kepar ha'n howl war an mor ha'n unn Kernow wir a nijas diworth diwweus a'm gwreg, "Ni re dhrehedhas na 'Penn an Wlas' mes 'The Land's End.'" *Dolli Penntreth, dell leverys an diwettha person dhe gewsel Kernewek, yw kammarwoedh sowsnekhes devnythys rag skonya an gansblydhen eus passys gans hy hernewegoryon. |
From the clayey heart and towards the west we went. Two centuries late for old Dolly Pentreath* but with fifteen miles left the Newlyn 'by-pass' was taken. At the end of the road was Sennen. Seventy pence! (There weren't pirates just in Penzance). As for the highest, so for the most westerly, the foot path was a motorway exactly like Skafell Pike. With new owners and under double glazing, we drank bitter black coffee and cola from a plastic cup. And the truth blinded me like the sun on the sea as the only true Cornwall flew from the lips of my wife, "We have reached not 'Penn an Wlas' but 'The Land's End.’ *Dolly Pentreath, reputedly the last person to speak the Cornish language, is an anglo-centric mis-symbol used to refute the last century of Cornish speakers. |
Copyright © Pol Hodge 1996 - publ. Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek Fentenwynn