The circular ticket hall
of Piccadilly Circus
London Underground
sees in the evening
the contraflow of
two disparate populations
theatre-goers flow down
to the tube line lines below
digging deep to drop coins
in the pint-size paper cups
of the beggars at their feet
or not…
the tide of supplicants
washes in to catch
the beneficent potential
of culture sated happiness
or not…
One group headed homeward
to cosy homes in the suburbs
the other homeless
unless you call a cardboard
mattress in a shop doorway home
and if these homeless are also addicts
then what is an addict if not someone
who also wants to be transported elsewhere
counting the fare to their next fix
perhaps they too want to go home
or perhaps to get as far away from home
as possible and anywhere but here and now
watching still purposeful feet pass by
this Ticket Hall is home to no one
a place of transit and temporary contraflows
Earlier in the day
commuters on the way to work
hurried past less generous
with the urgency
of earning a buck
and when their tide turns
at clocking off time
they flow against the stream
of theatre-goers
bubbling up from underground
and both streams
bypass the static beggars
arranged like rocks
around the confluential hall
That is the way it seemed to me
when years ago
I sometimes navigated the waters
when working in London
but maybe the government
has forced the Tube
to sweep away
the detrital evidence
of years of draining austerity
clashing with personal derailment
on the rocky journey through life
But places exist in time
as well as space
and I suspect these tidal flows
of rich and poor effaced
still meet for an exchange
of generosity and relief
somewhere out on
the streets of London
People, like water
will find a way to go
a time and place
to contraflow…
© Andrew Wilson, 2023
Posted for OLN #348 – Two Opportunities to join us LIVE @dVerse Poets Pub
I really like this – great to have a London theme.
Thanks Kim – I think its great to be place-specific in poetry…
This is incredibly powerful writing, Andrew! I felt like I was there 🙂 especially admire these lines; “People, like water will find a way to go a time and place to contraflow.” ❤️❤️
Thank you, Sanaa – these thoughts have been in my mind for years and just awaiting my current engagement with poetry to emerge…
You know this part resonates with me: “then what is an addict if not someone
who also wants to be transported elsewhere
counting the fare to their next fix
perhaps they too want to go home
or perhaps to get as far away from home
as possible”
Reading it again, I especially like the flow of it through the lines. The beginning is a bit “steadier”, which is perfect for the subject matter of the hubbub of people flowing. As it changes to the homeless and the addicts, it becomes a bit less steady. Then it picks up pace when talking about the working people. I’m not sure if you did it this way intentionally, but it works really well.
I agree. This is the part that really drew me in. Escapism is everyone’s addiction, it comes in so many forms.
Indeed it does Maria – thanks for visiting…
Thank you Melissa, I don’t think those changes in flow were conscious but I’m glad you liked them…
I love your thought provoking poem, Andrew. It is very well written. I really liked this imagery…
and both streams
bypass the static beggars
arranged like rocks
around the confluential hall
It’s a sad truth Dwight – thank you for commenting…
Love these lines
But places exist in time
as well as space
and I suspect these tidal flows
of rich and poor effaced
still meet for an exchange
of generosity and relief
somewhere out on
the streets of London
People, like water
will find a way to go
a time and place
to contraflow…
Thanks Reena , I was pleased with it too…
Oh that contrast, and the pondering question on what is an addict… I think we coming to the realization that addicts in reality are ill… self-medication is how it all starts.
I had a friend back in Ireland who told me that line – that smoking weed was to try and take her to some other place… I wish there was greater understanding of it!
Brilliant writing, Andrew. It reminded me somehow of a Josephine Tey novel.
Sorry to say I had not heard of Josephine Tey but I sent for a selection of her novels forthwith Dora…
Bravo!!! Nice one
Much💛love
I enjoyed your reading this afternoon, Andrew, and I am enjoying reading your poem to myself. Although I knew what to expect, there have been some surprises. I particularly like the familiarity of the setting and the players in Piccadilly Circus underground station, the evening ‘contraflow of two ‘ disparate populations’ and remember being both a theatre goer and a worker heading home. These lines ring true:
‘then what is an addict if not someone
who also wants to be transported elsewhere
counting the fare to their next fix’.
I also love the water metaphor in:
‘… when their tide turns
at clocking off time
they flow against the stream
of theatre-goers
bubbling up from underground
and both streams
bypass the static beggars
arranged like rocks
around the confluential hall’
and
‘People, like water
will find a way to go
a time and place
to contraflow…’
It is good to hear poets read their verses Kim, but I still find I need to see the words written down – preferably before hearing them read, I think…
It was a joy to hear you read this poem today. This was the part I caught today in your reading. The imagery is so rich. I can see this playing out in mind. What an excellent poem.
“…they flow against the stream
of theatre-goers
bubbling up from underground
and both streams
bypass the static beggars
arranged like rocks
around the confluential hall…”
Thanks Colleen – this poem took me by surprise having already written one and I just dashed it off in as short time as it took me to write it out – but they are often the best no?
I’m sorry I missed you reading this, Andrew. It’s a thoughtful and moving piece. I like the image of the “contraflows,” commuters, theatergoers, homeless, addicts . . . I’ve seen this mixture on a smaller scale in Philadelphia while taking the train back to NJ as a commuter or theatergoer and homeless people camped out underground.
Thanks Merril, I was very pleased with it if that is the right word for such a subject – I missed seeing you read too…