Welcome to my city
where the breadth of its beauty
might be dictated by the depth of your pocket
The sights and sounds
of tourists all year round
mask the death and decay
that fill some with dismay
If you live in a skyscraper,
what business is it of yours
If there’s a stabbing or two below?
‘It’s a jungle down there!’ we cry
but you’ll sip your wine from on high
Welcome to my city
for her- you need not show pity
She’s old but she’s strong
and she’ll keep going on
-taking with her, her fading beauty
©Vivian Zems
July 11, 2018 at 7:24 pm
A very interesting take on London, England, as an aging woman, Vivian. Never thought of London, in the feminine sense. More masculine, as a source of rebellion and resistance.
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July 11, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Thank you 😊. I think of her as a lady… don’t know why😀
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July 11, 2018 at 7:35 pm
You can take the girl out of London but you can’t take London out of the girl. I love the lines:
‘She’s old but she’s strong
and she’ll keep going on
-taking with her, her fading beauty’.
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July 11, 2018 at 7:59 pm
Thanks Kim😀
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July 11, 2018 at 8:01 pm
This is so true – the comfortably off feel so removed from the mean streets below.
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July 11, 2018 at 8:02 pm
Absolutely!
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July 11, 2018 at 8:37 pm
I see her as a lady to Vivian. Love how you painted her perfectly with your beautiful words!
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July 11, 2018 at 9:00 pm
She is still beautiful!! Though fading.
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July 12, 2018 at 6:51 am
Absolutely!
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July 11, 2018 at 10:16 pm
Powerful piece on London. I doubt that the tourism people will use it in advertising. ❤☺
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July 12, 2018 at 6:49 am
Lol! I doubt it . Thanks Walt!
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July 12, 2018 at 8:43 am
You’re very welcome! ☺❤
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July 13, 2018 at 7:20 am
😊
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July 11, 2018 at 11:21 pm
Powerful truths here. I particularly love this line which made me think of NYC right away:
“the breadth of its beauty
might be dictated by the depth of your pocket” and the sense of 2 more dimensions with up above and down below. Very special, very spatial, love for city.
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July 12, 2018 at 6:48 am
Thanks Susan!
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July 12, 2018 at 12:33 am
I first went to London as a youngster during WW2 it was fading then, bombed out, boarded up buildings and a greyness overwheling all but the red buses! But I loved visiting from a town 40 miles away with minumum bomb damage. I have never tired of visiting this city.
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July 12, 2018 at 6:47 am
Wow, what memories 🙂
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July 12, 2018 at 6:25 am
Beauty and the pockmark both explored with such depth! Love the image of London as an old lady.
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July 12, 2018 at 6:26 am
Thanks Sumana 🙂
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July 12, 2018 at 11:35 am
Beautiful poem Vivian
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July 13, 2018 at 7:19 am
Thank you 😊
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July 12, 2018 at 3:51 pm
London is a place I love to visit- over and over again. A fascinating old lady! I feel her beckon again!
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July 13, 2018 at 7:18 am
Please come!
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July 13, 2018 at 7:31 am
Fingers crossed… sometime soon!!!
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July 13, 2018 at 11:07 am
🙂
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July 12, 2018 at 7:10 pm
You describe her well Vivian.
My last visit to London was over twenty years ago, not as a sightseer, but as work, attending a meeting at St. Thomas’ Hospital.
The thing I remember most is the taxi-driver attempting to fleece me and my colleague – not a black cab of course. But I guess this is city life…
Anna :o]
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July 13, 2018 at 7:12 am
Lol! Sounds typical of London. Try to visit again- and give me a shout😊
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July 12, 2018 at 11:14 pm
Oh so true the depiction of life in the skyscrapers and in the ghettos, the dichotomy of existence true in every city. Well written.
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July 13, 2018 at 7:13 am
Thanks Beverly!😊
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