The next poem is called "A View from the Steps of a London Art Gallery". This is because when standing outside the Tate Gallery and looking across the river you are faced with a series of ill-planned office blocks, probably empty, from which someone had made his fortune, though others lose by this, either by the sheer unsightliness of the buildings or by the emptiness of the thousands of square feet of floor space lying empty. With this title in mind the poem is easier to understand. It is a re-written version of a poem I composed in March of this year.
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Magnate of riches has made his fortune While the beggar in ditches, as yet, is importune. Does anyone know . . . ? The moneyless charwoman continues her cleanings While philosophical artists reap hidden meanings Does anyone care . . . ? People improve on their God given lot Freely criticising others for all that they’re not Doesanyonecaretoknow? The beautiful buildings are all coming down Leaving ten storey needles projecting from ground. About this people know, about this people care But the empty floored office blocks are left standing there The rooms are all empty, the floors are all bare. The lifts never lift, the stairs merely stare At the world that looks in but never yet dared To criticise . . . Does anyone care? Dominic Williams, 5A. |