Abertawe
After Richard Siken
For CHD
Tell me about the time I mansplained
that Swansea is the English for Abertawe
and means town at the mouth of the River Tawe.
And about when, from the hill above Rhossili beach
Lundy Island’s spectral mass floated
on the blue of the Bristol Channel.
And to the south, a different river Taw
without the ‘e’, runs up the map towards us
to the sandy estuary where it joins the sea.
Along their routes both rivers gain salt and tide.
A world beyond anglers, herons, otters.
Or that fold along the English Channel
where Land’s End mirrors Finisterre
and St Michael’s Mount reflects Mont St Michel.
Tell me about that time we opened the atlas
of our held hands and found two identical scars.
Andy Breckenridge writes about cultural identity, memory and a sense of place. His debut pamphlet was published in 2022, The Illustrated Liquid Air Andy Breckenridge & Chris Riddell | DREICH GROUP and his collection, The Fish Inside, in 2023. https://flight-of-the-
Twitter handle: @drbafc
Instagram: breckenridgeandy