Trash
The walk is not a pleasant one
Along the uneven dirty pavements
Speckled by discarded chewing-gum
Dodging the broken kerb-edge stones
The gutters clogged with rubbish
Forming muddy puddles
The diesel spills creating tiny rainbows
Reflecting a weak insipid sun
The walk is not a pleasant one
Here a cigarette end
There a broken bottle
An empty lager-can
Ring-pulls, empty coffee cups
Crumpled polystyrene containers
With the congealed mozzarella
And the pizza drips still showing
The walk is not a pleasant one
The street is cratered with rain-filled potholes
Collecting fallen leaves
Wind-blown dust and other filth
Harbouring other garbage
Its double-yellows cracked and fading
Crowded round by brutal, ugly buildings
The walk is not a pleasant one
The alkies gather round the broken benches
Huddling together against the cold
Cradling roll-ups in their shaking claws
Holding anonymous plastic bottles
With their blankets and their dogs
And their general belongings
In bags around their feet
But with the setting of the sun
Come some welcome shadows
Shades that cover up the worst excess
Camouflaged clutter in the darkness
Just occasional pools of light
Lamp-posts in the gloom
But still the walk is not a pleasant one
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