Loud speakers drawl and bark
scratchy, intermittent and bleak
of endless wares speak
scooters toot
horns screech
through the morass
scooters shoot
tut tuts splutter and tut
through pools of turgid mud
phlut
bursting busses clamber
creaking human cargo
willed on their way
in blazes of acid soot
by tunes from a seductive
lilting
snake charmer’s flute
veteran Vespas trrg
out the way you! – bee beee
a retort – bee beee
a stately Worsley’s werr
sedate secure
then burr, burr
sorry for the delay
what would you like to drink
Sir?
manicured lawns
marbled halls
ice cool pool
creeper clad walls
buttressed against a chaotic day
standing securely in the way
but barely seen
in the shadows
dark eyes wait
resigned for now
watchful
waiting
in such a fury
of sound
a silent vigil
seeds of change
ferment
an inner cry
no one hears
hidden
behind a veil
of tears
