My City
The Sad Tale of a Once Beautiful City
This poem is ugly; it’s brutal too
But it’s my honest point of view
I love my city and will always do
So surely, this poem makes me blue!
***
The cacophony of sights, smells and noises
Assaulted all of my senses.
Hawkers, discount hunters, all their voices
Beggars with their babies!
Diesel fumes, sirens wailing in the distance
A whirring racket in the air
Rancid stench from overflowing trash cans
My city earlier this year!!!
A steady sea of humanity oozing slowly
All seeking a great bargain
Pickpockets in the crowd most assuredly
They are two-legged vermin!
This very street had high end shops before
Two scores and ten years ago
Now it’s but a flea market, nothing more
Where’s the city I used to know?
So I inched through the makeshift stalls
Selling mostly fake stuff
Tawdry goods, trinkets and gimcrack dolls
In no time I’ve had enough!
As I walked away, several kids approached
Offering flower necklaces
Grimy, pitiful; I’m sure they’re coached
Bought some to light up their faces
I rushed out of there, before more came
Fearful to be harassed
I wanted to help, for it’s a real shame
Too many of them, alas!
And tears welled in my eyes as I depart
Diesel fumes? Or the trash?
Perhaps! Maybe the heaviness in my heart
As I walked away in a rush
***
This poem paints a picture quite ugly
Of my city that was at one time lovely
Perhaps after some years, maybe fifty
It’ll rise again; sadly, that, I won’t see...
08-01-2015
© Vic A Evora
(2015)
Although I go back home to visit every year, I haven't been to downtown Manila in a long time. Last April I did and I didn't like what I saw. Businesses have moved out of downtown Manila into the suburbs, Makati specially. What used to be the business district with high-end shops is just a shell of its former self, to put it mildly.
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