Impressions of London in 1997 (Chants from Walkabouts - 5)

Poem 42 of 230:  IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON IN 1997

(TUNE - IN THE KEY OF G MAJOR:

E2 F#3 G1 G1 A3 G2 F#2 F#3
E2 F#1 F#1 F#1-G3 F#2 E2 E3
E2 G1 G1 G3 A2 A2 G1 G3
E2 F#1 F#1 F#1-G3 F#2 E2 E3)

Cabs all uniform in their shape.
    Good galleries make one gape.
Hard-going people on the move -
    Things matter much in this groove.

About the weather lots of moans.
    Solicits stuck on pay-phones.
Summer weather - not bad, I’ve felt.
    Lads giving a ball a belt.

Real estate is worth so much -
    Tenants’ rent sky-high, as such;
Nice stocky buildings all around -
    Will some have to hit the ground?

Cheek to jowl:  council flats needed -
    Stock by demand exceeded;
Building higher seems only way -
    Unless less arrive to stay...

Beaut. looking girls from many lands -
    Grace gone for capital plans;
Polite folks, from many cultures,
    Do become money vultures.

Veiled women in platform shoes.
    High-street beggars in the blues.
Privacy here costs so much -
    Partnerships suffer, as such.

See movies and shows from way back;
    Of good music there’s no lack;
All-day breakfasts at the good pubs;
    An abundance of nightclubs.

Green groomed parklands:  the best I’ve seen -
    Their gardens kept neat and clean.
Geraniums in flowerpots,
    On facades, make pleasing spots.

Floating pubs on the River Thames,
    And its bridges - real gems;
Both ways, here, the water goes -
    Still in range of tidal-flows.

Children, at park lakes, feed the ducks,
    Or watch squirrels take some nuts.
Into ponds, weeping willows sag.
    Sharp attacks on those who lag.

(C) David Franks 2003
From http://walkaboutsverse.blogspot.com