Wednesday 11 July 2018

Love the city


Love the city
Nobody knows me here
Traffic thrums
Footsteps drum
On the sidewalk below

I walk the street 
And I tap my feet
In a dance
Without a glance
From other passers by

They're in a rush
To avoid the crush
Get to work
Which I avoid 
I live without a care

I lie of course
I sit here alone
By the wall 
With a wooden bowl
For cash to drop right in

There's a sign
I've scrawled some words
"Lost my job
My house and home
Please help me start again"

I like this place
It is no disgrace
In this town
To show the world
There's room for everyone

Image found at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-41536766

17 comments:

  1. Sadly, Robin, your protagonist is viewed by many, as someone to avoid. A figure of shame, which people justify their cruelty to others, as a helping hand.

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  2. "There's room for everyone", indeed. And when we reach out, give each other a hand... that room can turn into a great place for all.

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  3. Yes, there is room for everyone.

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  4. A slice of the city, so heartbreaking & so perfectly captivated.

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  5. There is room for everyone Robin, but sadly some of us, most of us(?) turn our backs on those who have lost everything.
    If only we could all open our hearts...
    Anna :o]

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  6. "And I tap my feet
    In a dance
    Without a glance
    From other passers by"
    VERY NICE--AND THEN THE LIE! But I suspect he is a Walt Whitman, identifying with each one: The happy and the scornful, the sad and the scorned.

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  7. I love that "room for everyone." Most people are closer than they think - a paycheque or two - to falling on hard times.

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  8. The anonymity the city provides is a welcome relief for many.

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  9. I like the rhythm in your poem, Robin, especially in:
    'Traffic thrums
    Footsteps drum
    On the sidewalk below'
    and
    'They're in a rush
    To avoid the crush'.
    I'd like to think that there's room for everyone.

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  10. Love the flow and rhyme of the city you have here Robin, and the thoughts at the closing are poignant and beautiful!

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  11. A voice from the shadows! We never see him- or we pretend not to... but you gave him the power of speech!. Beautiful.

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  12. To show the world
    There's room for everyone

    Freedom to move is a luxurious privilege!

    Hank

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  13. As usual Robin you have given us food for thought with this piece.
    And planting a seed is sometimes all it takes.
    Peggy xx

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  14. Yes it does have that kind of melting pot appeal. Once the humanity remains to drop a penny in the old mands begging bowl, hope too abides

    Happy you dropped by my blog Robin

    Much🎀love

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  15. And that's an important message Robin.. we have to find room and empathy for everyone.. but we are increasingly becoming narrow societies.

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  16. A nice reminder of "there but for the grace of God …" Well written, Robin.

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  17. and therein lies the truth - for anyone can end up anywhere, elsewhere, where they never expected, in the blink of an eye; and we can never know someone's story, in the rush and crush of city life - and we can remake ourselves, remain hidden in plain site, or disappear;

    I like how you've kept this simple, to great effect.

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