The Shards of London

Olympic city and Jubilee bling

corporate logos with a hollow ring.

The other Stratford discovered at last

the NHS opener; a thing of the past?

The torch round the country unites the many

volunteers pointing where to spend a penny.

Squaddies on leave who save the day,

private wealth not having its way

I walked the Moselle along to the Lea,

smiled at green woodpecker laughing at me,

smiled wider in Tottenham as it seemed right

watching locals with shirts stand Bolt upright

The Haringey harrier, now Lord Coe

speaks for Britain in case you don’t know,

and people are out on their bikes once more

but getting knocked over by men we deplore

While south of the river a glass cone hits the clouds

leaving Coin Street, Clink and Cathedral to crowds.

The Duke of York went to the top of its slope

and slid back down on the end of a rope

A hungry metal caterpillar bores through underground

for Crossrail we are told makes a million from a pound,

but all this tunneling through hard ground and bogs

only to bring fat cats to the Isle of Dogs

There’s not enough places to take off and land

so let Hounslow be deafened, or let’s pave Maplin sand.

Now there’s a concrete plan if ever there was

that’ll do more than make birds and bees pause

Boris’ new bus can sometimes be seen

from a bike from a bank that’s far from green,

but more Chelsea tractors pollute the air

so travelling around can be quite unfair

There are handcarts aplenty in Hell these days,

that’s why walking is better to sense this maze.

So remember this year that is almost gone,

stop, listen, look around, and feel the ozone.

Gordon Peters,

December, 2012