(from the Spit Mancunia collection)
Where Heron's wade and tyres splayed and bob and old graffiti's fade
We crossed through gates and slowly made our way to where the waters bade
And felt the ghosts of men who made a kingdom from the cotton trade
And almost heard again the dins of hulls awash with fears allayed
Salfordian men and women paid
A million tonnes of fresh Canadian wools and grains and riches
All laid out
Oh how Mancunians played
The coming of the age relayed yet here I stand on wharfs decayed
Weeds trampled where wild dogs have strayed
Pollution slicks, a litter glade where mills once stood
Where things got made
Now, lock and swing bridge unobeyed
All left to die and sink and fade
A silent water palace
Like an empty church where once they prayed
A massive man-made icon left unburied
Did a midnight raid rob life and limb from all displayed ?
I walked home with a heavy heart
On promenades of moss-strewn jade
A member of a race in shame
A race that didn't make the grade
Where Heron's wade and tyres splayed and bob and old graffiti's fade
We crossed through gates and slowly made our way to where the waters bade
And felt the ghosts of men who made a kingdom from the cotton trade
And almost heard again the dins of hulls awash with fears allayed
Salfordian men and women paid
A million tonnes of fresh Canadian wools and grains and riches
All laid out
Oh how Mancunians played
The coming of the age relayed yet here I stand on wharfs decayed
Weeds trampled where wild dogs have strayed
Pollution slicks, a litter glade where mills once stood
Where things got made
Now, lock and swing bridge unobeyed
All left to die and sink and fade
A silent water palace
Like an empty church where once they prayed
A massive man-made icon left unburied
Did a midnight raid rob life and limb from all displayed ?
I walked home with a heavy heart
On promenades of moss-strewn jade
A member of a race in shame
A race that didn't make the grade
Gary, this is fantasic! I love the meter and the use of words ("promenades of moss-strewn jade"). Sets me in mind of the extraordinary verse-prose in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury. Great, great stuff. Thanks for leaving a comment on aztecelements. I'm reading more here...
ReplyDeleteHey Phil. Wow! You're too kind. But thank you sincerely. My poetry is very close to my heart, so I am touched. Your beautiful work is,for me, a lesson in humility. I am inspired. Your evolution shines bright. I can hardly wait to read the whole book. Don't stop!
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