Urban ... a poem

Life in the city...

Urban ... a poem
by Dave Doc Rogers
© 20090130

Gray and white sidewalks
Trees trapped within islands of dirt
Paper and glass pushed into corners
Grime coats everything

People huddle close
Flitting eyes glance
Hands clutch purses tighter
I walk by

Shuffling feet
A bum looks my way
Imploring eyes plead
I look elsewhere

Four hours in fluorescent
The massive herd escapes
Parks, benches, little tables
Coney, mustard, sauerkraut, two

Five hours in fluorescent
The hubbub wanes
Little clicks of keyboards
Lights switch off

Same drunken faces
Stained yellow with cigarettes
Non-talk and bad food
Waves and last nods g'night

Neon flares
Twitching light
Buzzing grows loud then wanes
I walk by

Corrogated hotels of cardboard
The destitute rich for a night
No one sees anyone
They all just walk by

Up the steps
Past one lock
Three flight walk up
Two locks I'm in

City street lights shine
Vacant eyes stare
Inebriated zombies stagger
People walk fast by slow moving cars

Staring out my window
One more butt
One more bottle
Time slips by

Author's Note

Urban ... a poem

Reviews

[TL Boehm]

again. I read Hogwarts...today...and now this, coming off of your political and faith essays, seeing the ground you can cover with your pen is amazing. I love the paucity of lines in this piece. It reminds me of those days when I would walk down the street and just take in all of the sights....the broken bottles, the vacant faces....awesome write.

[Carole]

Your poem is packed full of wonderful imagery, Doc. Felt like I was following right behind you as you made your way home. Drew me right in with each descriptive phrase: Paper and glass pushed into corners, People huddle close, Flitting eyes glance, Imploring eyes plead, The massive herd escapes, Same drunken faces, Stained yellow with cigarettes....dynamic from start to finish! You definitely describe life in what I am thinking is a downtown area...Most probably where you work. You definitely captured all of the sights and sounds of downtown city life:

Neon flares
Twitching light
Buzzing grows loud then wanes
I walk by

I saw the below in Mexico...A sad sight!

Corrogated hotels of cardboard
The destitute rich for a night
No one sees anyone
They all just walk by

Enjoyed this. A spectacular job writing this one. We writers tend to turn on all of the senses when we are places. It's a good practice. I find myself rolling them over in my mind from time to time to capture the essence of the experience and hold onto it!

Lifting my glass of H20 to this one! CHEERS, Doc!

Carole

[We are young.]

woah, once again amazing. I love the urban theme that you gave it. Nice job once again. Keep it up Doc!

[Kathryn Star, Shine!]

When you live in urban life everyone knows everything. Nice to read it, and just feel the flow... thanks. KS

[SM Davis]

Shuffling feet
A bum looks my way
Imploring eyes plead
I look away


I LOVED THIS ONE DOC. I THINK it must be my favorite poem of yours. Going into favs for sure. The stanza above touched me particularly. I think it takes a special sort to actually admit what so many of us do. Even I at times. Not so much anymore because I work in the trenches, but there are times when it becomes so heavy that even I turn away.

Definitely a fantastic write!