Forty-two sonnets written in nine months, many on the train between Merthyr and Cardiff, gave birth to Walking on Waste. In addition to these sonnets for modern times, are a series of haiku about Japan, with images of Hiroshima's past and Tokyo today. Also a number of humorous poems written in Merthyr dialect, including a tribute to the late, great John Charles.

42 soned wedi'u hysgrifennu o fewn naw mis, y rhan fwyaf ohonynt ar daith ar y trên rhwng Merthyr a Chaerdydd. Yn ogystal â'r sonedau, ceir cyfres o gerddi 'haiku' am Japan, sy'n bwrw golwg ar Hiroshima'r gorffennol a Tokyo'r presennol. Hefyd, ceir nifer o gerddi ysgafn wedi'u hysgrifennu yn nhafodiaith Merthyr, sy'n cynnwys teyrnged i'r arwr diweddar, John Charles.

Written as forty-two sonnets and a series of haikus, Walking on Waste is a collection of poetry based partly upon the south Wales valleys and Aberystwyth, partly on the poet’s observations of Japan.

His initial focus is on the destruction of Hiroshima and modern Tokyo, the opening, ‘Part I Haikus on Japan in June’, contains a shocking and profound reminder of the horrors of the time. We are then led into a number of haikus which reflect Japanese society as seen through the poet’s eyes, as though the first memory of the horror of Hiroshima then opens out in a wider picture: ‘One leaf tempura, Light filtering paper walls:/ Every bowl a bell.’ It is possible to get a sense from these carefully composed sentences of both the fast-moving and the slower culture of Japanese life – both stillness and speed.

In the sonnets there is a great range of subject and angle. There is a lovely opening in ‘Towards the Sky’: ‘A December morning, the last leaves cling/ like postcards pinned to a notice-board,/ we’re travelling towards a horizon that sings/ in pink and vermillion; but we’re bored.’ Sonnets like ‘Radyr Weir’ capture the drama of the south Wales landscape with careful crafting. The title poem ‘Walking on Waste’ is an exploration of the valleys’ industry: ‘A century’s waste.’

There is another shift in mood as the intensity of political events emerges in the later poems. ‘Red Flag Down Town’ gives a contained description of workers’ rebellion in the Merthyr area: ‘When will Merthyr ever rise again?’ Rhyme and half-rhyme are skilfully merged in all of the sonnets, so there is a flow of language – the last two lines often concluding the scene. The Aberystwyth based poems have an egalitarian feeling. ‘Like Driftwood’ is a sensitive and passionate account of a musician and his ambition.

Mike Jenkins’s poems stay in the mind. His later poems in Merthyr dialect reflect an understanding of the culture and also the humour of a people. His poems, which display an acute observation and playfulness, are well-designed and accurate. Altogether this is a very satisfying book and well worth taking the proper time to read; a very exciting collection from a very talented poet.

Clare Maynard

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.