Cadoxton Station by Geraldus John


Cadoxton station. Long time
Journeyman now at rest
High above the lonely moor.
Below the lacquered hill
Platforms bear silent witness
To a myriad lights that thrill.
Within a contortion of vibrant voltage,
As if from a shattered rainbow,
A joyous nuance dazzles the eye,
Vermilion, verdigris, mauve, sienna,
Virulent with shimmering light,
To defy and confuse the serenity of night.


Below this vital canopy
Spreads a vast still life,
But can anything there be still?
For behind it runs the rolling road
Of the roller coaster hill,
Cataclysmic shapes form gaunt fissures
In ephemeral beds of steam,
And skeletal cranes sweep spectral limbs
Each sleep walking a vivid dream.



I raise my head above the blaze,
To gaze at what was once a wet and lonely place,
And conjure up dreams of St. Gatwg’s lore,
And of old Tregatwg,
His dwelling place upon the friendless shore.