Under the City Streets

There are tunnels, runnels and drains and things

Under the city streets,

There are sewers and cellars where brewers keep

Barrels of French Chablis,

And deep below where the tunnels go

Are the ruins of ancient time,

Where people walked in the distant past

With their lives, like ours, sublime.

 

There are channels, panels of ancient art

That fade on a crumbling wall,

They haven’t been seen since Herod’s day

By an underground waterfall,

There are roads with rutted chariot tracks

Still paved with cobblestones,

Where the armies left, and turned to come back

In the times of ancient Rome.

 

There are harboursides deep under the ground

That once were lined with ships,

Phoenician Galleys with wine, that sallied

To trade on their many trips,

The harbours silted, the land built up

Now many miles from the sea,

And rats now scurry where sailors hurried

To catch the tide on the lea.

 

And deep down under the harboursides

There are caves that are filled with bones,

Where hunters gathered their animal flesh,

To carve it up in their homes,

They painted pictures up on the walls

With charcoal, ochre and chalk,

In a time when ice had covered the land,

When man had just learned to walk.

 

So where will we, in a million years

Be seen in the way of things,

Will our skyscrapers be toppled and found

By the folk from Saturn’s rings?

Will they say we must have been primitive,

As our cities are under the ground,

With signs of fire, like ancient Tyre,

No living thing to be found!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[roarke]

sooner or later it all gets buried underground.

I too find these underground wonder worlds fascinating. there are examples all over the world, from more recent times to very ancient, mythological times. Histories we've forgotten or not been interested in. This piece brings it all to the foreground, enticing again an interest and curiosity.

[TL Boehm]

fascinating. I've always been intrigued by how we build up on the ruins of old places. This poem speaks to that so well. I wonder how we will appear? Well done.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Strong and guided, I felt like you wanted to slap us about the mind with your thoughts, well done, good read.

[Pure Hope]

Oh this is just beautiful, thought provoking. I loved it. Your rhyme is rhythmic and soothing. And the mystery you leave this ending in is just mindblowing. Well done!!

[Emerald Seas]

If I had a limitless supply of money, I would travel the world to explore all the ancient ruins. So fascinating! One day, far from now, others will find the remnants of our existence. I wonder if they will look at our concrete rubble with as much fascination.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Beautifully written piece. Eventually, our society will be being "dug up" by the future generations. What an amazing contemplation, I applaud you on your creativity. As for the writing, smooth, easy and fresh. I quite liked this one.

[Mr Dunne Poetry]

Wow, I am speechless. It's not often that I'm rendered for words ;) The imagery used here is mesmerising. Thanks for sharing David.

[Mary]

I am amazed at how through your poetry, you can bring the reader into another land, into another time. sometimes I think about just what you have written about, and I find myself overwhelmed with the mystery, the history, the humanity of it all. Well done, my friend.

[Marc Marlon Villaflor]

Relevant writing, exquisite, very creative and equates from primitive to modernity. Love it! Great work Mr. David :)

[Larry Dyson]

I suppose we will be limited to the tunnels until we discover how to make a dome technologically sound enough to allow us to live in the sunlight ...seems we are content to live underground until then ...no impetus to spend resources for living in the atmosphere...seems almost daunting to step out in that manner..ty David ,nicely portrayed thoughts..

[Becky C Strukamp]

David, you breath so much energy, color, imagery and emotions into your writes. As I read them it feels as though I am right beside you visioning your thoughts. Your poems take me to places I've never been, they show me a side of life I've never known. From the first stanza the reader is hooked and never disappointed. thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us.