Can You Hear The People Sing?

Written after moving to London.

They dwell in strange rooms
the murky recesses of affordability
barely buildings, bedrooms with sinks
chair pushed up against the door
flakes of lives flung everywhere
a curtain, a quilt

who can really say...

A bare bulb hangs in an open window
no shade inside from day or night
Still lives go on; the rudimentary,
ramshackle, clutching at homeliness
the need for shelter unites us all
a hotel, a shed

who can really say...

In bleak electric heat, so many sing
it’s a different song
all sing a different song
Some higher, happier
some lower, more desperate than mine
flowing on through these days and nights
a verse, a chorus

who can really say...

The lawless, surging, movement of cars
the self-possessed trains below the buildings
so many pairs of eyes journeying on
the things they’ve seen, things they still see
those minds, all varied, wrapped in their own stories
a tragedy, a fairytale

who can really say...

Market stalls, street-sellers in threading gloves
the inside world spills out, a necessity
pavements become malls dressed in winter veils
motorbikes slip ghost-like in and out of sight
drunks stumble in high-spirits from bar to bar
a wall, a urinal

who can really say...

In tall towers, in basement bunkers
so many singing their different songs
some sing of the joy of things
some sing only of the difficulty
the tunes flow through this city’s veins
a love song, a death’s lament

who can really say...

But can you
can you hear the people sing
the miserable...

the quietly ecstatic...
can you hear the people sing...

[2011]

Author's Note

There's quite a lot of punctuation in this one :)

Reviews

[Dilan Gray]

I love the imagery of this poem. It flows beautifully. I enjoyed how you touched on the different songs people sing and how we can get so wrapped up in our own song that we don't always pay attention to what other people are singing around us.

[Tom Alexander]

Hi Dilan, thanks for reading this one too. I moved to London, UK (from the smaller city Oxford) back in 2011. I wandered around the big city taking in all the sights and sounds for a couple of months and this was the poem that came out. Seeing all the millions of people at different places in terms of wealth, career, relationships etc. was really eye opening for me and I felt like I'd had my eyes opened to the different 'songs' people were singing in their lives. Thanks again!

[Dilan Gray]

I’m glad this poem came out of the experience because it really spoke to me. And you’re welcome!