A Day Out In London Town

A sad poem about the homeless of London, England (and indeed the homeless everywhere in the world).

Cor blimey it's London! ~ a wet winter's day,
The stream in the gutter swills fancies away.
'Eavens  'ave opened, the wind 'n' the rain,
All of your credence is washed down the drain.

A walk by the river that rolls along still;
You turn up your collar to turn out the chill.
Owd Father Thames is right showin'  'is age
By slushy pavin'  along the Bird Cage.

The electric of neon, flashin'  aglow,
It lights up the shadows, it lights up Soho.
A sidestep down Dean Street where philosophers roam
And then passin'  the lodgin'  ~  once Karl Marx's   'ome.

Street vendors are weathered, soaked to the skin,
'Ot chestnut sellers are sizzlin'  within;
And corners and alleys where umbrae of bright
Drape faces of 'arlots, the girls of the night.

Along past the Palace, the digs of our Queen,
She's doin'  quite nice, if you knows wot I mean?
No time to visit  'er,  no time to call,
Gawd bless   'er Majesty;  Gawd bless us all.

So, it's back  'ome at nightfall, the place where I sleep;
Where my bed is sufficient to make Jesus weep.
By the sacrosanct soup kitchen down by the docks...
Which is just up the road from me owd cardboard box.

Sub pallio sordido sepientia

Reviews

[Stuart Munro]

Catch a poem to London , I lived there years ago , I had a brilliant return journey

[Alan S Jeeves]

I hope that you enjoyed your journey Stuart though, I hope you didn't live in a cardboard box - down by the docks.
Thank you for calling in to visit, I appreciate it.
Kind regards, Alan

[Stuart Munro]

Hi Alan , we were a band of musicians from Dorset , who went to London to be rich and famous lol, first a Flat in Wood Green , a midnight flit , Carrying a wardrobe onto the underground , moving to South Kensington , eight musicians in a Flat for two , our Chinese singer guitarist sleeping in a cupboard , singing at parties , wock and woll

[Alan S Jeeves]

I was rich and famous in Yorkshire, Stuart, and went to London and ended up broke. If your chinaman was in the wardrobe when you did the moonlight, was he a Chinese takeaway?

[Stuart Munro]

Lol, you could say that , his name was Ish ,
He did a great cover of Blue suede shoes , he was five foot three tall , with a long Beatle haircut , protruding teeth , Von thaw the money , chew fir the show , thee get a ready , go man go

[Chris Shaw]

These lines have such a Victorian feel about them, but they are also relevant to current times too. Just goes to show that not much changes. As a Londoner I felt quite at home here in these stanzas with its cor blimeys:) Reminded me so much of how all four of my Grandparents spoke. Although I studied Latin for two years in my youth, I did not understand the final line. A fine composition Alan. You write very well indeed.

Chris

[Alan S Jeeves]

You are, of course, correct Chris - nothing changes, here we are in 2022 and so many homeless people.
Being a Northerner I don't do a London accent very well - a little like Dick Van Dyke in the Mary Poppins movie! but I think readers get the message which is more about homeless souls rather than good accents. I hope that you agree.
Sub pallio sordido sepientia -
I added this as a postscribere, probably unnecessarily - sorry.
'Wisdom is often found 'neath a shabby cloak'

Ex animo, Alan