Postcard #37

September 13th, 2015

It took a while before I learned to love London
Until I saw it in daytime
The parks and the buildings bathing in sunshine

Until I saw something a little different
The music venues and rock bands
Had never truly given London a chance
Instead of seeing floors covered in wall-to-wall carpet
I was blinded by sunflowers at the flower market
Instead of spending money on things soon to be forgotten
I saw Rebecca Horn's work at Tate Modern
But somewhere in the streets around Chancery Lane
Next to the wall in an opening where one could hide from the rain
If one was homeless and sleeping [?]
There were now spikes on the ground as if the ground itself was saying, "Fuck off!"

Oh, hostile architecture, hostile architecture
Keep the unwanted elements out of the pretty picture
Hostile architecture, hostile architecture
When seeing the problem doesn't make it any better
And it's not just London, it's happening everywhere
Benches you can sleep on, all these spaces where
You have to buy something just to have a seat
I thought we the people were the rightful owners of our streets

One thing I've learned to love about London
Is everything that's free
Walking through the parks of the city
With my baby beside me
The wind beats off history
In an old cemetery
The coolness of a library
The music echoing from a balcony

Mmm, the fox sneaking off with a hot dog 'tween its teeth