Best Neighbourhood Poems
The road to my backyard is long and straight
Evergreen trees abound and provide welcome shade
Home to myriad birds, butterflies and the bees
Last summer their branches were sawn off, without notice
The orgy with power-saws lasted barely a day
The trees shorn of foliage, the limbless torsos remained
To secure the safety of a VIP on a state visit
To a smog-laden metropolis, labouring hard to breathe
A few years back, we moved house to an oasis of green
But now, the storm of development is relentlessly closing in
Razing and levelling with electric saws and bull dozers
And a host of equipment used by modern day builders
Pile drivers mounted on rigs clump through the day
Unrelenting even at night, when the elusive foxes bay
Grieving in the darkness with plaintive howls
For a vanishing habitat where his endangered kin prowls
They have acquired fish farms and farmland
And even encroached on the protected wetlands
Which naturally dispose tons of city waste
In danger of destruction due to greed and haste
Truckloads of rubble are dumped every day
The pace is frenetic, even in sweltering May
Toiling hard for masters, who’ve deadlines to meet
And citizens to house, from whom votes they’ll seek
A haze of dust now covers construction sites
The pace doesn’t slacken here, even at nights
Construction materials arrive here daily by the truckloads
And given shape by workmen, as planned on drawing boards
What was once green cover and blue sky
Will be concrete monoliths, stretching up very high
With parking lots and asphalt streets
And billboards and neon signs, ready to be leased
No longer will fields of mustard flowers sway sinuously in spring
Nor ripe ears of golden corn bob gently in the wind
The sounds of frogs and crickets are a memory of the past
Songbirds have fled, deprived of their natural habitat
Slowly the memory of winter’s migratory birds will fade
Never again, the razed canopy of green, provide cooling shade
As I walk through my ravaged neighbourhood, I wonder why
Impotent rage pervades through me and I silently cry
Neighbours come in many
shapes and conditions.
Some are helpful some
benign.
Some become friends for
all time.
They're there when needed
time after time.
Some just to say hi,
Some will help out with grass
or snow,
Some come with flowers, a card
or just good wishes.
There is caring and sharing on
all property lines.
We are all seem like family on
this avenue of mine.
Copyright 2008
Anne Rutherford
Poems From The
Heart Series.
Common complaints causes construction cautions
Builders banging boulders
Battling brash big mouths
Next. Frightening fractured
features free of foundation
Opened and operated officially
Neighbors napping lacking
Sleep slowly rising dealing with
DUSTY floors maybe must have
Heaved a heavy mop DAY by day
Or not.
Having hungry man. Dinners and TV.
For featured EXHAUSTION leads to
Quizzical self: TV or not TV. NOW
Builders were BANGING and boulders
We're booming. Here comes HEAVEN
Crashing down on MORNING.
EARLY midnight storming.
As some began their mourning
And I was JOINING.
What an unbearable noisy
Nuisance. There goes the neighborhood
Thunderous and numbing.
Not ENOUGH sleep. I tried to weep.
Thought maybe I'd cry myself To
Sleep. Neighbors yelling, dogs
Barking. I joined in.
A pity. SINK OR. SWIM.
THAT'S DEEP.
A very powerful house of Asia,
made with multiple materials and several distinct colours;
Chinese paints, Arabian decorations, Persian carpets and British Architecture
amongst others are the most conspicuous of its beautiful mixture.
Its dining place is carved out of the historic Sarawak chamber
where hot milk tea is served as breakfast
and could be made more luxurious and traditional
with a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk
and served wrapped in a banana leaf.
On its walls are hanged, wooden masks, silver works
and hand woven baskets.
It protects its most cherished Tiger-pet in the backyard
and has for eight times adjusted the hands of its local clock.
This house still stands a growing global influence
because it is in a neighbourhood occupied by teenagers
fast growing to become Adults in global economy and civilization.
Neighbourhood Tom
Night prowl….
….Cats howl
Penned 11 August 2014
A rather young couple have
Moved in together
In the two up, two down
Across the street.
Not for them conventionality
Or conformity:
No wedding band offends
Her third finger, left hand
Nor, it must be said
From appearances,
Does bath water very often.
Long, lank and greasy hair
Drools over their acne-scarred complexions.
They proudly declare their membership
Of the rock music degeneration
With booming bass
And screeching electric guitars,
Earth-quaking the street.
Oh yes, they have defiantly
Made it clear
They’re not going to conform
And prefer to live their lives
Living in din.
I was run down
Feeling low
Needed restoring
Back to my flow
Some sort of tonic
Would do me good
Then I saw her
In the neighbourhood
She came to my rescue
In the nick of time
Started telling me
I look real fine
Raised my spirit
My soul felt good
I’m glad I met her
In the neighbourhood
She was my angel
Who came to cradle
Picking me up
Each time I was down
Sure glad I found her
Can’t do without her
Glad I met her
In the neighbourhood
She was sweet as can be
Saw the child in me
Playing along
With such fantasy
I’m sure glad I know her
And I didn’t deserve her
Now we are living
In the Neighbourhood
© Copyright K.C.Leake
21st November 2015
All Rights Reserved
Fictional
tv in the fifties altering weekend rituals
one set in the neighbourhood
streetboys sitting around the famous indian head
for their fill of saturday morning cartoons
sci-fi flash gordon and i love lucy
allowed to stay up on sunday nights
to watch the old ed sullivan show
always one appointed volunteer
to get up and change the channel or adjust the volume
another to finetune the rabbit ears
to fix reception and remedy the dreaded snow
AP: Honorable Mention 2024, Front Page Pick 2025
Sadly , my acquaintance of IsiZulu and other local languages was so badly.
hardly to speak to acquaintance neighbors in the erea
as majority of them were sadly.
Neighbourhood had an acquaintance woman
superstar of Hollywood,
African woman who spoke American English
fluently like an African - Americans.
Hollywood superstar once carried firewood,
Woodland is the name of that Neighbourhood.
Place where you can find beautiful traditional houses
and an important old Palace.
traumatized good people always portrayed Apartheid
and colony as the causes of trauma.
Hardly communication between some people
As they were wounded by others hardly.
Painful life when you are victims of injustice, Trying to transform some unjust people by sharing love
and they continue to ignore your goodness
and kindness to increase your pain.
February 18/2023
Written for contest sponsored by Sotto Poet
...Honorable win
In the contest...
The wife can interpret wet dreams
(The neighbours all knew that, it seems)
They all think its grand
That she'll lend an hand
Whilst teenagers research X-tremes
We see them popping up on random streets
in a neighbourly outreach kind of way.
We don't know who to thank
since no one steps up to claim the credit
but it's the community as a whole
who benefits in many wondrous ways.
The suburbs are delighted to champion
these ecofriendly gifts of sharing ~
not only charming but welcomed pointers that
goodwill and kindness are alive and well.
AP: 2nd place 2025
Sighs of susurration sunder the silence ~
The neem tree swaying in the wind
An old lady yapping like a non-stop chatterbox
The roar of the road hero's motorcycle revving past
And a radio playing romantic songs nearby
An occasional vendor selling village vegetables
The honking horn of the ice-cream man
Children running by after a busy school day
Household hens clucking to announce their presence
Crickets croon in crazy chorus
Then, there's the train whistling past thrice a day ~
Soulful sounds sweeten the symphony
Strolling through my new town
Strangers talking solely on their phone
Quiet, with the occasional ringtone sound
Despite the smiles and laughs they feel alone
Imagining a conversation with a friend yet found
That awkward nod to a stranger, still on my own
Now avoiding eye contact, staring at the ground
A community broken by an isolated tone
A place no longer bound
Time to go home
27/1/23
Acquaintance and neighbourhood poetry contest
Sotto Poet
There is a mixed shoal of marine life creatures
Who live in a neighbourhood at the bottom of the sea
A mixed and varied group
Living together cohesively and in harmony
Timmy Tuna and Sally Salmon are best mates since primary school
They hang out together daily, have fun, explore and swim
Yet always aware and mindful of fishing hooks and nets
In fear of ending up in a tin!
Colin Crab is a quiet and gentle soul
Who deals with one mayor f’rustacean ….his sideways walk
Eye contact is not easy to connect or maintain
When catching up with his neighbours to talk
Barry Blowfish ….known to all as Blowie
Has struggles with his weight….mainly bloating
It tends to get him a little down
Often seen sadly drifting by ….puffed up and floating!
The huge and extended Pilot Fish family
Are Simon Sharks personal security company called the ‘Pilot Fish Clan’
Their mantra being…. keep your friends close
But your enemies closer….if you can!
Simon Shark is a aloof ,stern individual
Known in the neighbourhood as the cranky old man
He often disappears for weeks on end
With his steadfast ,protective ‘Pilot Fish Clan’!
Wally whale is the gentle giant of the neighbourhood
He is relaxed, gentle and loves to chill
Playful and continuously entertaining
Blowing water out his spout giving the neighbour folk a big thrill!
Then there is Stevie Stone fish….l think the name says it all
He enjoys partaking in a bit of C-weed
An expressionless face ,eyes glazed and lids heavy
He’s got the munchies again and now off for yet another feed!
Dolphins…Daisy and Derrick are married
They are happy and the sweethearts of the neighbourhood
Endlessly helping and taking care of others
Their intentions are forever selfless and good!
Trim the bushes
So that
It's not too high
Like hiding yourself inside a jail
Trim the bushes
So that
It's not too high
For love and help to rush in
In times of critical hours
Trim the bushes
So that
You can see
The bustle and rustle of your lovely neighbourhood