The factories long disappeared,
Silent structures still stay;
And more drugs than dreams have appeared,
In Kensington today.
The north of the Ave has its shine,
Less fine, southerly way;
Best Philly, and worst, intertwine,
In Kensington today.
Six miles, in a small corner curled,
“What matter?” you may say;
Well, the world is here, here’s the world,
In Kensington today.
Sit down, and let me tell you, son,
about the historic district, Kensington,
in the year eighteen-forty-four,
when the streets broke out in war.
The Irish-Catholic were new arrivals,
impoverished, fighting for survival.
The existing population was disquieted,
and so, Philadelphia nativists rioted.
It was then that false rumors were passed.
In a bad light, the Irish were cast,
Propaganda and lies, the devil's tools,
"They want to remove the Bible from schools".
But son, these things wouldn't happen today.
We are enlightened, though let me just say,
if there is an unpleasant circumstance,
just blame it on the immigrants.
Where is this? Are we on Mars?
America – just count the stores,
capitalist carnivores.
That so-familiar movie score,
the swish of passing cars.
The city built on Brotherly Love
(Wells Fargo, Fitch and Abercrombie)
at the mercy of Pam Bondi
- was that a person, or a zombie? –
What was Madison thinking of?
Car’s no use: no place to park it.
Arrested at a funeral home.
No gravel pits, no air, no loam
- eat your heart out, Kristi Noem
(Checks Cashed Here, Medina Market)
Can this be noon? It feels like night.
What are these groupings? Hangouts? Dives?
They’re ganglions? They’re human hives?
Squandered talent, wasted lives.
Subway line blocks out the light.
Sidewalk garbage. Mostly men.
That hokey old verbal agility,
“insure domestic tranquillity”
correctional facility
for the heirs of William Penn.
Human beings are detritus
(Lifetime Nails, Olympic Sports):
To clean it up, we use the courts
Perhaps we ought to build more forts
- and thus our id comes back to bite us.
A phenomenal day not writing poetry..
Watching excellence and physical symmetry!
Creativity in the ads were total artistry…
Halftime show done, with needed decency!
2/9/2025
YAHOO
'Brotherly love' reigns
Miss Liberty Bell proclaims
~ Democracy’s cracked
"Hiding Philadelphia"
The ground has cracked open
like an egg,
the shell scattered
all about
the yolk of life
sucked into the rubble
where a child is born
and carried out
like a prayer
an offering
to the silence
of mothers
lost in the
sentences
of the seven
churches
consorting
with angels and
their lampstands
held in the right hand
of a dead man walking
7 stars for branding
plucked from beanstalk
sits the enduring belief
ready or not, for planting,
to harvest the uprooting faith
covered in its
blanket of darkness,
dreaming deep
in dust and ash
embryonic,
a still birth
brought back to life;
the well hidden,
hiding Philadelphia,
reaching upwards
towards the light
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
Perhaps a conspiracy, but the crew only knows, the
Happenings aboard the USS Eldridge, kept hushed
In a ship that sailed from sea port to time portals
Leaves a feeling this test was not ready, but rushed
Amid the Atlantic they were meant to disappear
Despite intentions, not only from sight did they vanish
Ever baffled by a green, eerie glow where the ship was
Last, by naval command all of the records were banished
People say they reappeared in the Norfolk Naval shipyard
Heavily disoriented and fused to the steel hull of the deck
In legend they say these sailors fused were alive
And how did they explain this more than a ship wreck
Each crewman survivor, where are they all now
X-rayed and studied in a black ops facility?
Prying minds still trying to make sense of it all
Ever curious, but maybe beyond my ability
Remaining questions with impossible answers
In theory, could there still be witnesses left
Men or woman who saw a war ship materialize
Each in disbelief of their eyes, their logic bereft
Not knowing if it was paranormal or sanity failing
This gave a new definition, to the term parasailing
At the Philadelphia Flower Show
we plotted and planned our future life
that was the first time you called me husband
and I delighted in calling you wife
we made a wish on every bud
every elegant and extravagant display
the tulips called to our lips
and we lovingly obeyed
we ran barefoot across floral bridges
and danced with rainbow Perennials
windmills of majestic Daylilies
whispered summertime testimonials
we were lost outside of time
lost inside the paradise of our sacred oath
these exquisite gardens remind us both
of what in life matters the most
What would this city be like
If no one dies tonight?
If bullets stop flying?
If innocent lives weren’t dying?
Because these streets are like a war zone
And one night you just might not make it home
Tell me what would Kensington be like if there wasn’t any drugs?
And when will the city truly become the city of brotherly love?
Because there’s too many stories to tell
How a life has ended under the cities El
And over there on Lehigh
They’re prostituting just to get high
I’m just wondering what would the city be like
If no one overdosed tonight
And right outside of city hall
A homeless man sleeps up against a wall
Thirsty and hungry
To understand it takes the strong me
Cold and alone
Abandoned buildings now called home
I just wonder what the city would be like
If no one went hungry tonight
And I don’t want the city to be portrayed this way
So I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn’t stay this way
Philadelphia!
A beautiful young woman who came from very near,
was off and running with a great acting career.
She starred in a movie with Clark Gable titled "Mogambo".
Later, she was paired with James Stewart in "Rear Window".
A great film by the name of "High Society" would show.
There were a few other movies we would get to know.
This actress soon met the prince from the tiny country of Monaco.
They tied the knot, and off she would go.
For this lucky prince, Grace made a wonderful wife.
Tragically, a fatal car accident took her life.
I thank imdb.com for valuable information I obtained to write this poem.
Another Arena Bowl
was this team's goal.
The Philadelphia soul.
Dealing with reality,
a third-in-a-row trophy,
was not going to be.
Their season is now complete.
They went down to defeat.
The team from Baltimore did them in.
A championship the Soul would not win.
Philadelphia
is the home of the Eagles.
Super Bowl winners!
They tied that losing record and then went out and won, in a blowout
Can you believe it, they can't even get a record for losing
And then they go on and now have lost three in a row, go figure.
I did take the next day off from work and went downtown though
It wasn't raining, but it certainly wasn't sunny
I tried to eat my lunch at the Rocky statue
But people kept taking my picture every time I tried to take a bit of my sandwich
Then one guy said, "Hey!, move it!
I looked up at the Rock, a pigeon looking back down from atop his head
Gathering my lunch and picking up my umbrella
I reached up and patted Rocky on the knee
Saying, Hey Rock, do you think you can come back for one more fight, just one more
In hearing the tourist saying to his wife,
"maybe he's a crazy homeless man"
I simply looked at him, tipped my Phillies cap and walked away
And as I did this I heard that man say, "ah, the Phillies stink!"
Being a Philadelphia sports fan
is like being a Hawaiian who likes icicles... what's the point
I barely remember the two years the Flyers won in the seventies
Now the Sixers in 83 that was amazing, but since then...nothing
When I was fifteen I seen the Phillies win it all back in 1980
The next time they won it all I had a son who was fifteen, 28 long years
Oh, and the Eagles, they never won at all, but they're the "gold standard of the league"
In desperation I once rooted for a horse named Smarty Jones to win the Triple Crown
He was from Philly
You guessed it, He lost at the wire as my son and I watched in the rain
on the Parkway right near the Rocky statue
In fact, Rocky is this towns biggest sports hero, shame he's imaginary.
But as of late I have been cheering my mighty Sixer's
Just honoring the guy who made famous the 'who needs practice' quote
They have now lost 21 in a row, a team record
Now our sights are set on the league record at 26 loses in a row
I may take off from work that day
Maybe take a lunch and go downtown and eat with Rocky
Hopefully it isn't raining
Philadelphia Phonographic School
Back about 1903
A parrot was the pet to be
But teaching Pretty Polly speech
Real words – not just a screech
Took some patience – took some time
For Pretty Polly just to mime
The teacher must stay out of sight
As phrase and words they would recite
Repeating them a thousand times
Before the light in Polly shines
So the Philadelphia Phonographic School
Of Language for Parrots was the tool
A phonograph was left that plays
Your choice of words for days and days
You had to pay for room and board
Six months – eight pounds – and your reward
Was Pretty Polly speaking words
Repeating everything she heard
But parrots live for sixty years
For sixty years your poor-poor ears
Will hear those same words every day
Until they carry you away
Or place you in a padded room
Citing Pretty Polly as your doom
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.