Poetry on Sunday: Tryphena’s Candelabra by Mel Perry

We continue a series in which the Llansteffan-based poet Mel Perry explores roots, family and belonging in her poetry.

Tryphena’s Candelabra

How did you move

from teacher, new wife,

young mother

to find your mettle

among men in 1931?

I reach my hand

to clasp the column,

my fingers gloved

not to tarnish

its polished plate.

I drop my gaze,

see gratitude etched

in copper letters

to commemorate

your service.

My eyes flicker along swirled, grooved arms open in welcome as I imagine ancient women wrapped in skins and shawls, they gather together around cradles and cooking pots, share a paned,

lighting candles

I see the knop, drip-pan,

sconce; the snuffer

with its carved silver flame

shining my reflection.

I wonder

why they chose

the small font

to note your

achievement.

The First Woman Chairman

Ystradgynlais Rural District Council

My maternal grandmother, Tryphena Mary Thomas, (née Davies), trained as a primary school teacher at Barry Training College. If she was employed as a teacher she had to cease that work when she married William Morgan Thomas (Bill) in 1923.  They moved from Pengam to Ystradgynlais where Bill worked as agent for the Gurnos group of collieries in the Swansea Valley. Phene, as I have come to know her through my writing, was a bright, lively woman who volunteered extensively in the community. Tryphena’s Candelabra offers a feature of her story.  I have written in response to other artefacts that I inherited, including the silver key presented to Phene in 1931 when she opened houses newly built by Ystradgynlais Rural District Council.