Ode to London – Part 1

By: Oriana White

About The Poem

Ode to London Part 1 & 2 are reflective responses inspired by homelessness, trauma and survival.

The Poem

Lazy good for nothing London
You have been there in my darkest hour
Encompassing, suffocating, strangling me within an inch of my life
Meandering in the shadows
Silent in doorways
The world passes by
Undetected, unnoticed, Invisible
The struggle is real
Hunger pains strike my insides
Smoke a cigarette to lull the agony
A swig of brandy to warm the cockles
Numb this loneliness

Oh glorious London
Paved streets of chewing gum
Bleak, black, dust
Particles fill my lungs
Bus exhausts, transit vans fog my vision
Remind me I’m still alive
I’m here

Summer Haze glistens
Blind my sight
Soft hand reaches out
Kind lady, Marjory Lee
Warm smile, bright eyes, Immaculate skin
Tender energy
She sees me –
Shadows lit
Illuminated early morning bin vans

Staring through the window
NO HELP HERE
List of specifics – boxes I didn’t fit
Still, I stood
Young, vulnerable, alone, afraid
Slipping through the net
No radar
No timer set
They’re cards laid bare
Dared to chance a bet on the unimportant girl
No kids, no money, no home
Lost, confused
Rumbling tummy
What hell is this?

Oh beautiful London
Full of possibilities
Choices open –
Those with stability
A step up, a step in
A place to begin
Paths led us to the places we didn’t want to see
Stuck
Unseen, trapped
Silenced, don’t speak
London joy
Hope and glory
Class separation
Full of rich stories

Between the cracks of the concrete jungle
Moss and trees sprout through
Gifts from mother nature
Wildlife, a wild life.

Another world beyond the seen
Surviving against all odds
So many sods, drunks, grafted, shafted
Couldn’t care less –
Sanctuary in London zoo
Caged, caged, caged –
something peculiar about this space
Let birds fly free
Freedom from harm, freedom to roam
Love to hate, hate to love
London’s like a dirty drug
Urged to leave – yet withdrawn to return
Whatever I feel
London’s my home.

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