OLD BIRMINGHAM: A NEW POEM...

I Take This Opportunity…

The Roman style Birmingham town hall

Rises high above the cartoon scene,

Classical, in ignorance of what lies below:

A smart building which plainly impresses;

A gentleman, turning, looks elegant in top-hat tall,

A carriage is hauled by horses, legs trotting serene;

Yet an incongruous wagon, its delivery slow,

Lurks among ladies, wearing promenading dresses… 

The main characters drawn on the postcard

Are in the foreground at the base of the pile:

A bill-poster’s trousers appear unkempt and torn,

As he wields his wooden pasting brush; 

The message urges folks to be on their guard

And be aware of pickpockets’ stealth and guile,

Yet he himself is being ‘dipped’ by a cutpurse forlorn,

Out in the open, not relying on a crush…

Barefoot, the urchin lifts the chap’s tails,

Reduced to theft when all else fails;

The privileged classes and the town hall’s magnificence

Directly conflict with the pair’s poverty and decadence…

Pete Ray

October 2017

Another Cynicus published postcard about Birmingham.

The artist was CG Phillips…