Contemplation of Roses by Annest Gwilym

Contemplation of Roses is the latest collection from Welsh poet Annest Gwilym. The opening poem Spring ends:  'birds are loud / in trees shouting begin begin begin' which is very apt as a description of early Spring birdsong and as an opening to a poetry collection. 

The first half of the collection moves through the seasons of the year, from Spring to the 'grey spaces of winter' in Hinterland. These are well observed poems, written with a great eye for detail, I particularly love the 'yellow cartoon feet' of the Little Egret in Season of Roses. All the poems are threaded with beautiful phrases to capture the individual feel of each season, including: 

 The syncopation of air-blue days (Sumer Is Icumen In)

sunwet smell of new roses (The Contemplation of Roses)

Soon the deer will come and shyly stamp out / the last blazing embers of summer. (Early Autumn)

Most poems in the second part focus on lonely people, including the remembered shared loneliness of the height of the COVID pandemic (Remembering Pestilence) and a lonely human sharing an encounter with a deer in The Quiet Night. Home briefly looks at the status of the Welsh language, weaving in images of the natural world:

'brittle on your tongue, slow as lichen, tactile as clay.
The language you dream in, yet cannot write.'

Dear London is an anti-love poem to the city the poet once lived in: 

your wrinkled river, as tired as the moon (Dear London)

Most poems here are free verse, though Dinorwig is a haibun, offering an interesting potted history into the site of a Celtic hill fort and later a quarry. 

The collection is brought to a close with Twilight.  

'On the shore of night,
my pebbled heart is made of air,'

This is an enjoyable collection, offering insights into the natural world, memory, place and loneliness. 

Contemplation of Roses by Annest Gwilym, published (2026) by Lapwing Publications. 

**

Disclaimer: I was sent a free e-book of this title in exchange for an honest review.  

You can read my reviews of earlier books by Annest, by following the links below:

Seasons in the Sun.  

What the Owl Taught Me.  

**

Meanwhile, I'm delighted to have a poem in the latest, Music themed, issue of Allegro magazine.