The mountain lay there, so serene,

Gazing at the sky,

 Wrapped up in a mantle green,

Watching clouds glide idly by,

But little did the mountain know,

Its peace would soon be shattered,

Or that all across that valley scene,

Its insides would be scattered.

For down the road there came four men,

Tugging on a rope,

With muscles taut, and eyes alight,

And hearts so full of hope.

These four men knew beneath that green,

There lay a wealthy soul,

Not gold, nor silver, or rich thick oil,

But diamond-like black coal!

"Set up camp" the leader cried,

As he climbed up on the peak,

"Dig it deep and Cast it high,

I want to hear those bodies creak,

To these 3 men my coal I entrust,

And you will all heed their directions,

Jones the Plant, Rees the Production,

And D.L. in charge of projection.

Soon explosions rocked that peaceful scene,

Birds on the wing would shiver,

Yellow monsters moved in from far and near,

Eucs, Graders, D8s, D9s and the 225 Caterpillar.

The Marion was Joe Mullaney's pride,

And he sent that dragline sweeping far and wide,

Digging the Upper and the Lower Four,

While Casey watched him from down below.

And under his breath said "Good Boy Joe".

Piece by piece the mountain crumbled,

As ton by ton the coal was trundled,

Up and over Cwmbargoed Common,

The sheep looked on but did not comment.

It's 25 years later, and the work still goes on,

But in a very short time all the coal will have gone,

So four men will come back and pick up their rope,

And leave that sore mountain, hearts full of fresh hope,

Of more coal around some corner,

And if their luck will hold out,

They'll find it and mine it,

Without a doubt about.

Bridie Gardener 1984