FOR LONDON, MY LOVE

The sleet stung,
the drizzle kissed ceaselessly:
Grey was glorious.
Five quid, over and again,
many a fragile portable rooftop was bought.
I was Mary Poppins.

Fading paper demanded devotion -
between pages of the past,
I found the present perfect.

Bargain baguettes,
doughnuts caressed by chocolate,
pouches of pasta, a pint for a pound:
The trudge to TESCO
delivered the day’s wonder.

Thiruvalluvar was an unfailing friend,
Trafalgar grew used to me,
Foul and fair,
the Thames shared my moods.

Chapel mornings, Angel afternoons,
Sacred nights with Mozart
in the Martin crypt.

London, my kingdom.
Lived
on a wing, in a limbo,
in love.

Feet for chariot,
Song for company.

My corner
from the glaring light of being,
being
the person they knew.