A Walk to the New, Old World

I walked around the glistening streets 
and damp ginnels to capture old memories.
I meditate, looking down upon a dull, wet town.
Huge square structures pierce up from the 
ruins of battered industrial carcasses. Shadows stretch 
from the round tower block that commands the skyline,
and beyond the white noise of the traffic
heading towards the city drones infernally.

There, an infant housing estate sits, brooding.
Its houses jostle for status, breeding satellite dishes,
double-story extensions and, patio doors.
Children play football on the green space nearby,
where skeletal pylons over bear the neighbourhood.
The gardens, with shielding, rich green Conifers,
are segmented by the criss-crossing
alleys, leading to newly erected shops.

A disused railway line has been recycled 
into a wide path, which is used by nuclear
families out for a walk with their children, who 
play hide and seek in the bushes. I walk past 
the house where I used to play and recall old 
faces from my childhood. They do not play in the 
streets now. They are all far too busy with
their problems: bills, mortgage, divorce.

There are the newly retired couples, 
just arrived here, exploring their way to the 
new post office to collect their pensions, like 
pioneers. They'll make new friends in the pub after
then drift back up the road to the 
bungalow they’ve just bought to have dinner 
on brand new plates, while I still sit here, 
and make fresh memories in a new, old world.

Judy Garland, American actress, singer and dancer, died today in 1969.

Bruce Campbell, American actor, producer, writer and director, was born today in 1958.