Adelaide

 

 My heart beats for the city I love

 Where history mirrors days gone by   

 And birds fly overhead high in the sky                                                                               Eyeing shoppers in mall down below                    

 And Uni students eyes are all aglow                                                            

 Nearby parks, trees and squares all abound

 While tramcars still trundle round and round 

 The streets are straight they do not amuse

 Not like cities with roads that confuse

 Never was a city with such sound

 With a park surrounding all around

 Close easy walk inside to zoo there

 I could list many features to share

 Whether man or woman it's a treat

 So I'll not disurb you anymore

 Adelaide inside you will adore                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                               

I love the city

I love the city
No, not the shopping mall
Or the famous landmarks
With their fine architecture
Avoid the tourist bus
To learn the spurious traditions of a bygone past

No, come walk with me
Not in the bright sunshine
We'll wander down this dark alley
To find a separate world I know
A place that I love
Far from green lawns with flowerrs and statues

Keep your eyes open
Stare at no-one
Particularly that woman there
See those doors way up there?
That's an old warehouse
You can see an old hoist still there above

Stand here for a while
Do you hear that rumble?
Those are trains under our feet
It would be hard to sleep 
In these old houses
With that tremulous feeling all through the night

We can cross this bridge
Over a placid river
A man was thrown in and drowned
For just being different
Before the city was built
It was the native peoples camp site long ago

Each city is like this
Remembering like me
As it holds on to its chequered past
Now as we turn this corner
Here are the shops again
And the city that everyone thinks they know


Image found at www.pixabay.com

The city I love

The sun sets in the city I love

Darkness hides life about us now

As owls and bats skim all about

In dark corner I hear a shout

Is that a rat in narrow alley

I am sure it was he didn't dally

The full moon smirks from its safe place

As call girls show much of their wares

Taxi cabs deliver their rides

As they cross the road with big strides

The girls plead but are brushed away

Long night for them until break of day

The nightclubs are filling up fast

This city like any other

Is now embraced by everyone

Even that guy toting a gun

I drink my coffee in Joes bar

Check driver of that fancy car

Then I hear the tires give a scream

As it takes off swiftly pursued

Is chased down the street to dockside

I leave; stuff ups I can't abide

Flag a cab, must get out of here

Found later in bar drinking beer

Image found at https://www.instagram.com/mc...monster/

Moving house

Had lots of reservations moving to city
Living in an apartment with neighbors so close
With lift instead of stairs just used for escape
I so missed my garden and the twittering birds
But not sorry there were no rats about
Flowerboxes on balcony are not much fun
I'm growing basil there and flowering annuals

Had a few doubts about moving to the city
My wife Mary thought the kitchen was far too small
Until she found all the extra storage space here
There were fire alarms inside to sense smoke and burns
And on seventh floor the noisy traffic quietened
At first we had city maps pinned up on wall
But it didn't take us long to find our way around

We are all so happy we moved to the city
Kids love the city parks and zoo a walk away
Young Andy likes the flamingos there with long necks
Of course he imitated them when he got home
Flapping his arms on his flank strutting around
There is a new river cruise we all want to try
But what's the hurry we've only been here a month

Image found at https://www.experienceperth.com/business/tour/captain-cook-cruises

My office window

I look from my office window
At faux charm of city below
Buses, buskers vendors galore
Doves fly down and dust floats up
In long summer's stifling damp heat

Sensing her perfume close to me
The winsome smile of the office girl
Her sighs viewing the street below
Wishing she was off shopping now
Browsing the view near to my seat

Heard her sing in the kitchen once
As I walked by one winter's day
Stopped and wriggled when she saw me
Looked like an orphan, 'til I smiled
How both her and my hearts did beat

Office affairs are hard to hide
We tried, we tried so very hard
I scarcely touched her yet some see
Our eyes betrayed us every day
But we married, lives now complete


Image found at https://www.tripadvisor.com

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

City sunrise

Midsummer and the sun rose over the city
My wife was still sleeping and all was calm
Slowly I eased myself out of bed
Looked at the quiet street below
A cleaning truck had just passed
Traffic lights changed for ghosts
A cat crossed over
Murmur in bed
"Are you coming back?''
"Tea or coffee?" I asked
"No, just give me a cuddle"
So I then threw back the top sheet
And wrapped her up in my strong arms
She really is a beautiful woman
It's wise to do things before the heat sets in

Image found at https://www.1zoom.ru/

Another boring day

The chairs are empty by my bed
My visitors I see have gone
All is now quiet in my room
Outside sun still weakly shone

I can recall falling at home
That was I think a month ago
I'm still in a hospital room
Hearing traffic in street below

Miss my house in the countryside
This city is a noisy place
Where ugly money reigns supreme
Traffic, crowds, noise with no good grace

Then at night the dark side reigns
Spruikers, call girls to name just two
Drunks evicted protesting still
Bats of the night around they flew

The evening here is a quiet one
Pills dispensed are now locked up tight
But now choppers blades thrum away
Emergency patient lands tonight

The chairs still empty by my bed
Temp and blood pressure now begun
Curtains are closed on waning moon
As another boring day is done

Image found at https://www.istockphoto.com/au/photos/hospital-bed

Author's note: In case you were thinking of asking; No, I am not back in hospital I just wrote what my brain told me to.

Prime position

She lay there prone on the sidewalk
Seen her there before days nigh 
Surreptiously begging
Except when the cops went by

Then she would merely be idle
Still alert but with closed eyes
Ready to tell her story
Fibs told by her artful eyes

But this time it was different
Paving blood told of a hitch
Gone to meet the ferry man
Somebody wanted her pitch

Image found at www.projectbivouac.org.uk

The Revenant

Bright white lights of the city
Now glare down at me again
And candle toting kids beam
White Christmas, is this a dream?

Born and worked here long ago
Never in my wildest thoughts
Did I think I'd be here again
Back home after so much pain

Scent of pine is in the air
I watch them all every one
Passing shoppers do not see
This man from a far country

Cars are honking in the street
Painted call girls pass me by
Don't care to give me the eye
Swish off to a safer guy

Roll up my sleeves I'm back home
Start my life over once more
Streams of living water flow
My past has gone long ago

Image found at www.londonperfect.com

No interest

Grimy fingers hair in tangles
Streetwise she knew all the angles
Forgot the shame, ignored the scorn
Even the day that Christ was born

Smutty language her only shield
With hidden knife she would wield
Unsteady gait was more a trot
People thought she'd been smoking pot

She'd sit sometimes in doorways bleak
Palm out flat some cash she did seek
Maybe touch a dollar or two
To get to the pub for a brew

Cared not about her tarnished life
Didn't want to be someone's wife
Didn't want anyone to touch
In fact her life was just not much

So was she ill or just insane?
As living seemed to be a pain
Her life and others would not mesh
No interest to start afresh

Was she waiting for the end to come?
Was her life just sad tedium?
To rejoice at the end of days
And just disappear in a haze

Image found at www.thinkprogress.org

Rural sounds

Neighbours are such a funny lot
Some may chat but others not
Others moan and take you for a fool
As kids laugh in the paddling pool
And jump all still wet and clammy
Which pleases me and wife Tammie
They'll wake you up at morning's light
Which make your dog bark out with fright
With brutal music that you hate
That upsets us all and makes us late

I dream of living with neighbours far
For rural sounds are all I care
The chattering of birds on wing
My wife as happily she sings
Air so fresh that we all breathe in
Far from the urban smog and din
Call me proud even call me dense
Stay far from those that cause offence
Keep away from the city's grime
For this is where I'll spend my time


Image 2 found at www.elfadely.blogspot.com

Hungry for the bush

I must leave the city
Wail and thrum of traffic
The noise and the clatter
Endless inane chatter
No friends just enemies
With no faint praise for me
Road works and lots of jerks
Everyone a stranger
Bright lights and back street fights
Walk, don't walk, traffic lights
City darkness goodbye
Thanks a lot, had my fill

I'm hungry for the bush
Need to take that trip soon
Thirsty for the country life
Please counsel me no more
I've heard it all before
Heading up north right now
Loose myself in the woods
See eagles fly up high
Wilderness here I come
Back to my true blue home
Praise the hills for their calm
Off to my place of rest

Australian terms used: Bush         - Outback country living 
                                   True Blue  - Real Australian

Adelaide main shopping area  Image 1 found at www.adelaidenow.com.au
Mt. Remarkable National Park Image 2 found at www.pinterest.com

I am the revenant

I have now returned home
The pilot flies over
This my city of birth
Bustling busy with life

I am the revenant
There is no shame in that
The engines roar, I sigh
The plane drops slowly down

We're dismissed like schoolkids
Stewardess smiles at me
We are freed from her care
My feet now touch home soil

I engage a taxi cab
Takes me to my hotel
Shafts of light filter through
The tall city buildings

I don't remember it
Everything has changed now 
But I have too it seems
There is justice in that

There is fluctuation
My thoughts are all jumbled
Stranger in my own city
We must be friends again

I shall walk through the streets
Cut through the alleyways
Breathe in the atmosphere
To claim it back again

Image 1 found at www.flickriver.com

Image 2 founds at www.ctbuh.org

Don't fence me in

My sweet wife nudged me

After all these years

The city called

No, ordered I move

To the office in town

We had to shift

Or lose my job

Sweet wife had visions

Apartment with views

Balcony for tea

And all shining new

Our new luxury pad

Singing praises

Her poem of joy

I’d been a city child

Raised in a brick flat

My youth’s hell

Communal balcony

Entrance for all

Dirty windows

And constant noise

Escape to the country                    

Dancing at village hall                               

Kids riding horses 

My wife now smiles

This was now our plan

Don't fence me in

With city's railings       

Image found at www.visitsweden.com                 

Heaven Sent

Old man stood on the busy street
As commuters passed by his feet
There a frown always on his face
For none bought from him at that place

He stayed there all that long day
Until the sunshine turned to gray
For he was that funny old fella
That all day long sold umbrellas

At spots of rain he'd nod his head
But when it poured a smile would spread
Shoppers their homeward path would wend
Now people were happy for to spend

T'was not long before he'd sold out
Rain was gushing from each water spout
He left for home and prayed as he went
For that good rain was heaven sent

Image found at www.urban75.org

Free of Traffic Lights

I love the city's sights
The traffics constant hum
The bustling mindless crowd
The busker as he shouts out loud
With a call to buy his wares

I see the flashing neon signs
Seduction at its best
For each sparkling eye
Persuading you to buy
And take your prize along

The rumble of the subway train
As I ride back home alone
Others eyes look askance
As they drift off in a trance
So many strangers in this town

But there is another me
That yearns for further fields
Where everyone you know
And the pace of life is slow
The country where I was born

The corner shop and the local pub
Where all do laugh and drink
The old farmer chats with me
Hoping that some rain he'll see
For I am welcome here

I see the nurse from the hospital
The doctor is playing cards

With the barber and others too
They all have a drink or two
As this is Friday night

It's just a walk to see some sport
It's not a cent to see my team
As a game is played upon the park
Neighbours smile at me in the dark
How I wish I lived back here

For friends will wave on Main Street
For no-one gives a hoot
The local dog turns not a hair
It is how to live without a care
So free of traffic lights

Image found at www.abc.net.au

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

The girl with tangerine lips

I stood in the street

Watching the city pass by

Kaleidoscope dreams

The bright lights flashing

The sad song of traffic noise

The scent of decay

I was quite alone

Stranger among the thousands

Until I saw her

She cocked her cute head

The girl with the tangerine lips

Her timeless question

 

Why did she choose me?

How could I tell her story?

Whose daughter was she?

Image from www.fallenlog.com