Hour Nineteen – There are so many nature poems out there. Our prompt for this hour of the night is to write a poem for a city, real or imagined.
My Tale of Two Cities
Two homes have I, they’re oceans apart
Two cities, not one, I’ll say from the start
Two cultures, so diverse and different at first
Together, however, they quench my thirst.
Calcutta in Bengal, the City of Joy
I breathe in the grime, the dust, the whole
Rest my weariness on her ample bosom
She rocks me alive and soothes my soul.
Glasgow then, my home of choice
Where we have put down roots for many years
And raised our child with a Scottish voice
With folk so friendly after chips and beers
There’s a thread that runs through both
A thread that isn’t just me
The parallels are there, an historical oath
That most of you have yet to see.
The Scottish Cemetery in the heart of Calcutta
The Tagore Society in Glasgow’s core
The two bards have songs in common
Paisley, football, jute and more.
Wouldn’t it be grand then?
If I could blend the two
Take the best out of both these cities
And create for me a utopia new.
As someone whose heart has always been broken by geography, this poem resonated deeply, but really shone in the details of two cities I know very little about, but you communicate beautifully. Really splendid.
Thank you so much Caitlin, as an Army Brat, I need these two cities as my constants you know.
For this one real or imagined city prompt, your comparative poem that merged two cities came out pretty well. The two cities could stay together in a cup that quenches your thirst!
I truly love both my cities
This is beautiful. I love how you connected the two cities. I especially loved the ending resolution and the lines- “There’s a thread that runs through both/A thread that isn’t just me”. Really well articulated.
Thanks Bhasha, I guess if you write the truth, it becomes the truth, no?