Wales’ national poet has said it is “quite concerning” that a poem raising political issues was rejected from the Senedd’s opening ceremony.

Briefings to the media about the event said a poetry reading would be made by Hanan Issa at the ceremony on Thursday, which will be attended by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

But on Wednesday, Issa posted on social media that the poem she submitted, To Grow, which referred to Gaza and trans healthcare, was rejected on the grounds that the ceremony was “apolitical”.

The Senedd Commission said the poem, that Issa had reworked and had already been translated into Welsh, was “not the right fit for this occasion”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Issa said she would not be attending the ceremony where King Charles and the Queen will officially open the Senedd’s seventh term.

The poet added: “I am not welcome anymore. I won’t be part of the ceremony.”

The first minister will be among those greeting the King on the Senedd steps with the presiding officer Huw Irranca-Davies and the Labour Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock, who will represent the UK government.

Issa said the feedback received was that the poem had an “edge” and could “perhaps be softened.”

“That’s what I thought I’d done and obviously, it wasn’t enough,” she said.

Issa added it was “telling” that in the chamber where political issues are discussed “a poem that raises political issues is not welcome, that feels quite concerning”.

The Welsh-Iraqi poet, filmmaker, and artist said she was inspired by Welsh poet Saunders Lewis’ imagery of Wales as a vineyard, and developed that around the brief’s request.

“The brief asked for something that celebrated members and their achievements, and something that served as a reminder of their commitment to the people of Wales.

“I don’t know about you, but celebrating the achievements of members when they are just about to be sworn in feels a bit premature.”

Instead, Issa decided to write something to remind the politicians of “their commitment”.

“I wrote something that described Wales as a garden, and our Assembly Members as its gardeners.”

Issa said that after submitting the first version she could have refused to make changes, but instead chose to compromise and try to find a halfway point.

A second version used “more abstract language”, Issa said, but it was also rejected.

Based on the brief, Issa said it didn’t sound like “they want a poem just about daffodils, and so it felt like a disservice to write something that was quite surface level”.

“We’ve just faced a summer of wildfires. We’re going into a season, no doubt, of floods. The proposed data centres, people have lots of concerns about that.

“There’s so many things, and so it felt important for me to speak to those things.”

Quoting John Lennon, Issa said: “‘A poet’s role is to try to express how people are feeling’ and it felt like an important moment to do that.”

The Senedd Commission said: “After a development process, we concluded that the poem was not the right fit for this occasion.”

It added: “We respect the National Poet of Wales’ artistic independence and continue to admire and value their work.”

Also speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Irranca-Davies described Issa as a “fantastic poet” and said it was “disappointing” for her not to have her poem there, but added it had been “deemed not appropriate for this occasion”.

He said: “I think the reason that’s been made clear by the Senedd Commission is there’s plenty of debate and political debate, not just in Wales, but within the Senedd day in, day out, week in, week out, and that’s a really good thing, that robust debate on difficult issues.”

He said the ceremonial opening was not a day for political debate, but a chance to mark the start of the Senedd term.

“It’s the one day of the term when this official opening, when we come together to pause, mark the start of the Senedd, celebrate the communities of Wales, remind members of their service to the people of Wales that they serve, and there will be many fantastic performances here today as well,” he added.

Reform sources said they felt the commission made the correct call.