That Other City

A poem about two cities, 12000 miles apart,
but when it comes to politics, the same!
Bradford in England, Manukau in New Zealand.

                We all know
                 there is an authentic world
                 being endured,
                 in the inner city.
                 Rampant “Bradford” In the north,
                                 “Manukau” In the south,
                 all insidious pavements
                 lead only to concepts of
                 harmonious bickering,
                 acrid tasting pollution
                 bound by the “Red Ribbon”
                 of municipal crap!
                 True blue generations reared
                 in socialistic ideals,
                 surrounded by slabs of concrete
                 to demean a catabolism
                 of one’s comfort zone,
                 a system nurtured
                 in closed minds, torn souls!
                 Yet today many voices
                 constantly cry out,
                 from behind the barriers
                 that society constructed erroneously;
                 voices that ripple
                 the airwaves, before being
                 immersed in an ocean of
                 radical subversion.
                 “If only to keep them bastards down.”
                 “Manningham lane”
                                 “Preston road”
                 Teeming with cultivated
                 inclinations, fenced in like cattle
                 where the “Acropolis” Meets
                 the “Ghetto” That invisible
                 boundary of frailty, whether physical
                 or in one’s self righteous mind!

© Harry J Horsman 1997

Copyright © | Year Posted 2012



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Date: 10/19/2012 11:38:00 PM
wow, what a powerful poem. This is one I somehow missed on this whole page of poems I have read!! It's probably one of the best on the page as well. Excellent, Harry! And I'm glad you liked my sestina, which was my one and only I believe. Those things are just too dang long (both to write and to read)
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Date: 10/11/2012 7:51:00 PM
I enjoyed reading this poem today. Quite inspiring and great word play. Always, Laura
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Date: 9/12/2012 10:07:00 AM
You penned a good one. Politics is always dirty. Both sides try to bring out worst of one another and try to make us believe that They are the right person for the job. We just hope for the best. Thanks for sharing. Lucilla
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Date: 9/2/2012 8:11:00 AM
an eye opening view harry luv of politics personified .. much the same here in USA especially this election year..campaigns can bring out the dirty side of humanity but good still prevails my friend .. wonderful work .. hi to lovely Elaine ..
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