Connected Roots
Welsh relevance in conversation
Spoke in cafés in high streets from Cardiff city to valleys out north and west.
Questions of independence, of survival and growth
Of preservation, innovation and hope
We are connected at root
from the roofs of Tiger Bay you find people who have replaced heritage with home:
home is now a space in Wales.
A place where words and hugs are exchanged, smiles from the faces of the world.
Intertwined lives brough forth at the world stage
Embraced and recognised as song filled arenas of sport
We sang with love at the core
YMA O HYD
The world remembered speed and legends of war
The melting pot at the core of the life that we live
Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday
Wales.
Ali Goolyad is a poet, actor and a community activist. Born in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Ali migrated to Wales aged 1. His previous work includes writing and performing in De Gabay, (National Theatre Wales), Border Game, Storm 2, Big Democracy Project (National Theatre Wales), Borderland (Radio 4), Talking Doorsteps (Roundhouse), Mattan Injustice of a Hanged Man (BBC), and Black and Welsh (BBC Wales). Ali is a collaborator at heart and loves the version of Welsh culture he creates.
