An Obscure World

 

I was born into an obscure world bereft of colour,

places which were indistinct lacking any brilliance.

Everywhere I looked I saw a fusion of shades,

blacks, greys, browns were all that existed.

It was a time immediately after the Second World War,

a time of economic restraint and severe austerity.

People moved about in drab garb which suited their surroundings,

men in fawn or black double breasted coats and trilby hats.

Women in suits or coats with square shoulder padded jackets

with hats which had wide brims that covered half of the face.

Buildings in desparate need of a lick of paint were brown,

or blackened by the stone impregnated with smoke or war time fires.

Even my school uniform was comprised of a black blazer a black cap,

with grey flannel pants, black shoes and a grey shirt.

My mothers best outfit was a light grey suit, seldom worn,

with my father clad in a double breasted suit of navy blue.

We lived as if we were covered by a grey blanket,

from which not even the sun seemed to penetrate.

Nothing was modern or attractive as films were in black and white,

grey cobbled roads were soon covered with black asphalt.

The war had drained us of beauty and imagination,

as if we knew nothing different and had to make do.

Time passed by and the dreary post war images gave way to,

a splash of colour with new fashions and coloured films.

All about us was transformed within a few years,

to a world bright and filled with optimism.