A London Life

My thoughts about whether I want to live and work in London

All my life I assumed I'd end up here,

with a dark blue suit and a well kept beard,

making a difference, or money, preferably the latter.

Cause that's how the world works, so morals can't matter.

But the more time spent here, the more hesitation.

Is the future I took for granted just a miscalculation?

I thought my days would be spent with my eyes looking high,

scanning skyscraper spires in a jacket and tie,

feeling important, and looking it too,

smiling at familiar faces in the crowds I walk through.

Now the workers parading the city I notice

have their heads in their phones, the whole world out of focus.

Pictured most of my time at a desk, by a screen,

taking important phone calls with a cup of hot tea,

only one thought coming into my mind.

How can I earn more, get promoted, and climb?

That attitude seems, now, callous and naive,

like there's nothing more important in this world than me.

How can I be sure, then, that I'm glad to be forced

to spend my days in a place that shows no remorse,

where the air is coarse and the tempers short,

where stress and overwork are just a matter of course.

Should I care just for myself, and my future more?

Since it seems the fight for progression's a war.

And I may well end up here, you can be sure

I just hope I do so as my last resort.

Reviews

[Red Brick Keshner]

A significant shift and progression from the first post. Particularly enjoyed the flow and movement of thought and feeling as the stanzas unfolded. That gives a very real sense of 'journey.' And that, to me, is more than half of what a poem should aspire to do. Thanks for sharing!

[John the Baptist]

Interesting look at changing values. The speaker is discovering his depth of character by eschewing the career trap so many fall into. Too many do not do this until it's too late.