English review followsPe byddai''n rhaid imi ddewis ar amrantiad fy hoff linellau i am ddwr, rwy''n meddwl mai ''Hon ydyw''r afon, ond nid hwn yw''r dwr'' yn ''Ymson Ynghylch Amser'' gan R. Williams Parry fyddwn i''n eu dewis. Dywed gymaint.Mae Grahame Davies yn cyffwrdd '''r un syniad yn ei ragymadrodd i''r briodas ddwyieithog o luniau a cherddi yn Alchemy of Water - Alcemi Dwr , wrth egluro sut y llwyddodd y ddau dynnwr lluniau y bu ef a Tony Curtis yn cydweithio ' hwy i ''rewi'' elfennau ar gyfer y gyfrol. Yn wir, mae Grahame Davies yn edmygus iawn o lwyddiant y ffotograffwyr, Mari Owen a Carl Ryan, i rewi '''u camer'u lif nentydd, symudiad cymylau a threigl amser ar gyfer y gyfrol.Mae pedwar artist yn rhan o gemeg Alchemy of Water - Alcemi Dwr . Owen a Ryan wedi tynnu''r lluniau a Davies a Tony Curtis wedi llunio penillion byrion yn ymateb iddynt - y naill yn y Gymraeg a''r llall yn Saesneg.Cyfrol ddwyieithog, ie, ac mae''n deg dweud hefyd mai''r darllenydd dwyieithog sy''n mynd i elwa fwyaf ohoni gan nad trosi cerddi ei gilydd mae''r ddau fardd ac mae ganddynt, ill dau, eu rhagymadrodd personol eu hunain.

Er, gyda''r cerddi, mae''n rhyfeddol weithiau sut y sbardunodd ambell lun y ddau fardd i ddilyn yr un llinell meddwl yn union. Dro arall mae cryn amrywiaeth a dim ond y darllenydd dwyieithog sydd wedi ei fendithio i werthfawrogi hynny.Cynnwys y gyfrol ddeugain o leoliadau a cherddi a''r lleoliadau hynny, am ryw reswm, wedi eu rhestru yng nghefn y gyfrol yn hytrach nag yn hwylus ochr yn ochr '''r lluniau. Go brin bod angen dweud bod y lluniau o safon aruchel o ran cyfansoddiad, goleuo a dychymyg gan wneud y gyfrol yn ychwanegiad teilwng i nifer, erbyn hyn, o lyfrau lluniau trawiadol a gyhoeddwyd ar gyfer byrddau coffi''r genedl gan Wasg Gomer dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf.Mae ychwanegu penillion y ddeufardd atynt yn amheuthun, a''r ffaith i''r ddau gyfyngu eu hunain i lai na hanner dwsin o linellau yn gweddu i''r dim.Mae''r pwyslais ar olygyfeydd a sonia''r ddau fardd yn eu rhagymadrodd am harddwch a phrydferthwch Cymru. Golyga hynny, er mai dwr yw''r thema, nad dwr sydd wedi mileinio a throi''n fwystfil gan raeadru drwy barlyrau a cheginau a chartrefi mewn rhyferthwy o fraw yw dwr y gyfrol hon ond rhywbeth llawer mwy rhamantaidd. Tybed a fyddai cynnwys yr elfen ffyrnig honno wedi ychwanegu at wefr y gyfrol ynteu amharu ar ei naws?Mae rhywun yn sylwi hefyd mai lluniau heb bobl yw rhai''r gyfrol - ond wedi dweud hynny mae ôl llaw dyn yn rhai o''r golygfeydd ar ffurf cromlech, pont, olion abaty, 'ceyrydd concrit'' atomfa Trawsfynydd, ffensys a dwy fynwent - a dymuniad Grahame Davies;Rho imi orwedd am byth fel hyn,Corlan gymdogol ar lawr y glynA gwlith yn bendithio fy medd dan yr yw.

Ond, yn dy drugaredd, ddim eto, Dduw.Oes, mae ffrwyth yma i''r llygad ac i''r deall.Glyn Evans************************''This book celebrates the landscape and the people of Wales through poems and photographs. It shows us how water transforms the land, feeds our eyes and illuminates our lives.''Photos from forty locations are included in this bilingual publication accompanied by short, enigmatic, verses in English by Tony Curtis and in Welsh by Grahame Davies. The bilingual reader is twice blessed because the Welsh and English verses are not mirror images - although it is interesting how both poets have grabbed the same flight of fancy on some occasions when reacting to the photos.As Curtis has it, ''Grahame and I decided that we would respond to the landscape rather than to each other''s writing. Of course, some poems are close in theme, mood and implied narrative as they draw on the specific moments captured by the camera.

At other times we went on quite individual journeys from the same starting place.'' He could have said ''same staring place'' because these photos invite contemplation. Anyhow, the bilingual reader has the added bonus of watching both fancies in flight. Both poets have also contributed their own personal introduction to the book.In his, Grahame Davies grapples with the transformative nature of alchemy , be it changing base metal into gold or knowledge into wisdom and mortality into immortality, enabling the common elements of human life to become mystical.Within the common theme we have water in various guises, sometimes beautiful, sometimes reflective, sometimes moody, even overflowing. Sometimes as threatening clouds and other times as silver shafts ripping the land.Photographers and poets have avoided scenes of the occassional deluge that sometimes flows through communities sweeping before it homes, lives and aspirations.

Maybe this was not considered suitable for what is essentially a coffee table publication more in tune with Thomas Hood''s ''gentle streamlet'' than those television images of flooded homes and communities.But what are included are some really arresting photos offlowing brooks, heavy rain clouds, the countryside reflected in the mirror of a lake as the camera halts, as Davies has it, not only the motion of clouds but time itself.Much as Hood had said,''The water that was here is gone,But those green shadows do not change.''One thing that I did find a littler strange in a book that promises to celebrate the landscape ''and the people'' of Wales is the complete absence of human presence. Discounting the photographer, there are no people in these scenes although, it must be said, that the works of man are evidenced in a number of them in the form of a cromlech, a bridge, a castle, a stranded boat, Trawsfynydd''s ''blockhouse headstones'', and a graveyard alongside which ''the river runs brimful of life''.So, yes, there is much to admire in the photos and much to contemplate in the verses.