Watch: Welsh attitude to Pen y Fan summed up in hilarious poem

Molly Stubbs

Cardiff-based poet, Matt Nõmme, has once again captured the attention of global audiences with a hilarious poem about climbing Pen y Fan.

The video for ‘Every C**nts Climbed Pen y Fan’ has garnered more than 330,000 views across social media platforms, and sees Matt reciting the poem from the base of South Wales’ highest peak.

The piece, inspiring comments including ‘this is true poetry’ and ‘This the essence of Cymru’, combines Matt’s signature comedic style with niche Welsh commentary.

Performance

Matt, a self-described ‘punk poet’, wrote his first poem while sat in A&E in 2019.

He thought of a joke and, in the 8 hours he spent waiting for a doctor, turned it into the poem ‘My Brother Sam’ that he still performs to this day.

Since then, he’s seen social media success with his irreverent yet incisive pieces about everyday life in Wales, with ‘Every C**nts Climbed Pen y Fan’ marking his most recent success.

The poem delves into the very Welsh attitude to the mountain, highlighting how many people climb Pen y Fan just to say they’ve done it, while also passing complaint on how busy the mountain is.

Summing up how many people feel, Matt says in the closing lines to the piece, ‘I’m not above it even if I critique, ‘cos this c**nts climbing it next week.’

Success

To add to the success of the poem’s official video, which features video captured and edited by Matt, the poet also posted an Instagram reel from the top of Pen y Fan where he found the title’s expletive coincidentally spelled out in stones, prompting Matt to call himself the “proud parent of an obscene stone circle”.

Matt Nõmme’s debut poetry book ‘Happy Daze’ was released in November 2023 and features a selection of his archetypal poetry and photography captured around Cardiff. The collection, along with other merch, can be purchased from Matt’s site.

You can hear more of Matt’s poetry and keep up with his writing via his Instagram.