Flared Pants, Mini Skirts and Mr Eliot

How like Eliot it is in tone.
Even the landscape has the grime
of London in each line. I must have been
no more than nineteen when I wrote 
the poem caught in the spell of his hypnotic 
rhythm and rhymes.
The bright, clean air of my home 
was seen through the filter
of a foreign fog, his soulful exhaustion 
washed a gray tide across my youth.
He stood as a monument in whose shadow 
nothing could grow.
Prufrock haunted the back alleys
of my mind, a rebel almost in the guise
of a comic. He was hardly me
in a world of pub rock and cold beers
on lazy, sun drenched Aussie afternoons -  
no rolled up trousers but instead,
reefers, flared pants and mini skirts 
and a future balanced on the whim
of a conscription ballot
hanging over my head.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2024

Poem

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Wolf Avatar
November 14, 2024 at 8:26 PM
Reminiscences mature into profound pools of reflections as the years swiftly pass. Translation: I really got into this one, Paul! Bravo, Gershon
Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace