Saturday 27 September 2014

My City



The filth and squalor of the city is my home
Its raucous shouts and sounds
Where hope dies fast
And all struggle to last
Perhaps to see another morn

The taxi driver’s sneer, the smell of beer
The vomit in the gutter
The call girl’s smirk
As bag snatchers lurk
For all this I think I was born

For all the music, the shouts and screams
The hopeless vagrants stagger
The flashing signs are a drug
A street light attracts every bug
A lone stranger looks forlorn

Early morning now the screams have gone
Street sweepers takes their place
I wend my way back to my pad
This hectic life is not so bad
Except the glare of honest dawn

Image from www.flickr.com

26 comments:

  1. last two lines are great....i like how you describe living in a city

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  2. I live close to the CBD in Sydneyand it is nothing like what you have described in your poem. I have also lived in London ( admittedly a long time ago ) and it was not like that either. So I can only think your experience is in the squalid areas. I guess I have been lucky to live in such nice places.

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    1. Have you tried Hindley Street in Adelaide?

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    2. No ...and never will !

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  3. i cannot imagine having to exist in such noice. you describe a dire subsistance that is home to many. i'm lucky

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  4. Intense description of city life, reminds me why I live in a rural area. I like the use of rhyme in some lines, adds a lot to the poem in my opinion. Great poem.

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  5. Interesting how the view, smells, and sounds change from late night to dawn! Dawn is indeed honest...causes a person to see in a new way.

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  6. I adore how you have managed to make vomit glorious! :)

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  7. Great description of city life in your poem, oldegg. I like how the last stanza contrats with the rest of your piece and makes us feel it is indeed morning with a very different atmosphere. Well-done!

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  8. wow! nicely wrought, honest to goodness sort of telling,

    have a nice Sunday

    much love...

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  9. The cadence of your words brings the hard feelings of your words to life...a very raw experience you have had.

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  10. You paint a picture of that street in many towns where people subsist in lives of desperate struggle. I can see the scene you paint so well......I love "the glare of honest dawn".

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  11. What an excellent depiction of city life. It reminds me of a week (and the nights) spent in Jeddah; not the nicest of places. :-)

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  12. ahhh...the city life. You've covered most of its misdeeds and negatives. and that honest dawn...perfect!

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  13. Cities are not made for daylight.. The dawn's too honest in its glare.

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  14. I have to think this is pure irony--contrasted with the quiet street cleaners and an honest dawn! Very fine!

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  15. I am lucky to live in a city that is not so dense as to put all of that into close proximity, but you do have to keep your wits about you at all times in any urban environment.

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  16. A great description of life in the city. Great poem.

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  17. i absolutely love this....one of my favorites from you. i felt as if i were standing right dead center of this city, watching all these pieces of life passing me in a blur, except, with this poem you gave me the details.

    stacy lynn mar
    this is wonderful. reminded me of walking across my old college campus, watching life and fall unfold together.

    stacy lynn mar
    http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/

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  18. ah the dawn light pushes back the shadows of cover that oft hide what happens in the grit of the city....but she has so many stories...i cant help but love her...

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  19. this one hits home with stark authenticity.great.

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  20. i live in the city too and i can relate to some of the imagery in your poem. :)

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  21. Excellent description of city life. I am lucky to be from a place where it isn't so crowded. But no matter what , there is no place like home!

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  22. This reminds me of living in N.Y. I never roamed the streets at night, but can imagine some streets were like the one you describe. I love to visit the city, but glad I live in the desert.
    Your poem is so well written. It depicts the city realistically, and those last lines include a little hope with dawn. Nice.

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  23. It is a certain life in the city....you have captured it beautifully here. :-)

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