buckets on streets,
and swept off the beggars,
homeless, clueless
addicts slumped on my feet-
cruising between
my arms, spray-painted by
electric green
and psychedelic orange-
my head, turban
of colorful stories-
erased to white-
i'm restored melody
flowing breezy-
i'm saving grace among
eyesores & punks-
i flow as flowers do
flowering to the sky
shimmering false-blue hues-
stop! it's bleached!
the whole city is tangle
of rotting bones
coated with fresh garden air
for VIP guests
so I stand still
dreaming of sunflowers
buzzing of insects-
collecting rain in pockets-
my nose runny
with smog by whizzing cars
Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Street Art or Culture, Hosted by Lillian ~ This is theme: I’ve posted five examples of street art for folks and ask them to pick one and somehow write about it. Images in public domain at Pixabay.com. Only requirement is that folks post the accompanying image.
Love the title and the story you're telling here --- that wall, that street scene, erased....then restored in flowing beauty, flowers, false-blue hues, for VIP guests. A city "white-washed and painted oh so beautiful" to make it look good...hiding the tangle of bones. That's my read here....I wonder if in this instance, there really was more detractive graffiti first? And what will be there next week or next month?
ReplyDeleteSometimes these graffiti are erased and painted over, specially the not so nice ones ~ In other cities, the bad eyesores are removed elsewhere for VIP guests.
DeleteThanks Lillian ~
So many cities are being gentrified... and in the end we fill them with cars... I'm not sure I like progress.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to me to be about covering up the problems, not dealing with them. It's kind of sad.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great title, Grace, and I like the way you have conveyed the business-like attitude of the cleaners. I also like the doubt that creeps in about the results of their cleaning in:
ReplyDelete' my head, turban
of colorful stories-
erased to white-'.
and
' stop! it's bleached!
the whole city is tangle
of rotting bones
coated with fresh garden air
for VIP guests'.
And what on earth happens to the down and outs? Where have they been swept to?
An original protest poem!
I liked "erased to white" and "swept off the beggars,
ReplyDeletehomeless, clueless".
Really nice write Grace.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, "amazing grace to eye sores and punks" should be your tag line. ha. That made me laugh when I got to it. Nice flow.
On some level, it hurts when they paint over the street art, but its just a fresh canvas. I hung out with some street artists a few years ago. They know its not permanent.
Washing away the homeless and such does not cure the problem, it only hides it for a bit -- you know.
Careful, all that surreal imagery and flow might upset the "straight tie" poets. Smiles.
That smog sure likes to fill the air as cars zoom by without a care.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful imagery. I can picture this as a short film. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteWunderful :)
ReplyDeleteZQ
ps: not an error in spelling...
A wondrous outpouring!
ReplyDeleteCreating an illusion or would it be a diversion to the inner city problems. Can the problems really be swept away? You have created a strong image that stays with the reader.
ReplyDeletePROFOUND and excellent poetry!!!
ReplyDeleteyou have strong imagery and powerful expressions my friend!
i'm restored melody
ReplyDeleteflowing breezy-
i'm saving grace among
eyesores & punks
How true that flowers have such an effect. It is a soothing experience!
Hank
Love this take on the prompt with these flowers Grace. "the whole city is tangle / of rotting bones / coated with fresh garden air / for VIP guests" This is almost daily occurrence in my country.
ReplyDeleteah yes, some powerful lines...this wiping off of reality...loved reading!!
ReplyDeleteBleached and beautified for the VIPs. Totally relate with this poem cause I have seen it happen multiple times
ReplyDeleteThis is truly splendid work, Grace. Marvelous flow and imagery.
ReplyDeleteSave the flowers! Share a smile. Oh, this was so splendid.
ReplyDeleteyour poem reminded of those times in the philippines when the government cleans up or hides the eye sores to make the capital look good for international events. Once, the government erected a facade of pretty buildings to hide the slums. There'd also be a planting frenzy which did make the city look fresh for a while.
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant title to pin this stunning poem to.
ReplyDelete