London

Multiculture flecked but England still -
Theatre, university, the Crown,
Department store, finance house, football ground -
All life itself displayed in this proud town.

Note Chelsea's confidence of place and style,
The World in Knightsbridge, Eaton Square's disdain
Hyde Park's calm, its Corner's frantic swirl,
And Middle Eastern opulent Park Lane.

Off Piccadilly's artery run veins
Of quality and art. Young Eros mans
The frontier of Leisure, complex heart
Of London's night-wide entertainment span.

In Holborn's void, insurance, print and law
Subserve the princely towers of E.C.3,
Whose shirt-sleeved dealers and their screens reflect
The ebb and flow of the economy.

And ebbs and flows the noble, lovely Thames
Custodian and core of this, our town,
Each bridge a rib of London's history
Each river light a diamond in her crown.


2000