City Life

Driving, I see the patterned contrast of nature and tar
Living shadows o'er roadway
Eyes delight with each small bramble triumphant and alive
Beside highway of concrete and fume

Stoplight swings on spanning wire
Birds cling in communal conversation
High above waiting shiny cages
Lights change, birds stay, we motor on

Butterflies in the tree lawn
Birds nest in neon signs
High heels click on sidewalks
Amidst the ants dismantling discarded lolly

Pigeons pitch and bob to gather scrap and crumb
Bus hisses stops ... dispensing humans to the mix
Bee buzzes down to the trashcan by the curb
Life reflected in the office window as workers toil within

Comments: 8

Carol Voigts Jan 22, 2006, 5:15pm EST

I really enjoyed several lines in this "dispensing humans to the mix" and "patterned contrast of nature and tar". I often try to blur the two contrasts by squinting my eyes to make them blur together. Actually as I think about doing that, it's kind of strange, isn't it?

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Cat Givens Jan 22, 2006, 5:22pm EST

Carol, maybe it's strange, but it's fun! How dull life would be without play and
experimentation, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!

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Joyce Melton Jan 22, 2006, 5:34pm EST

I like the gloss of reverie in the poem, thoughts flitting idly like butterflies. Good stuff.

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Captain Ken Pothier Jan 22, 2006, 7:02pm EST

Like it, enjoy finding the wildlife that evolves to life in the city. Having lived in both places, city life is more and adjustment for me. Nice how you put the two together.

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Cat Givens Jan 23, 2006, 3:47am EST

thanks, guys. Having lived in the city for decades, I realized the dance of nature and infrastructiure and learned to appreciate this. I still don't get the concept of and "empty lot", as there is abundantly more life before development than after!

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d g. Jan 23, 2006, 7:52am EST

Worked in dowtown Seattle for years. It takes years of being inhaled and then dispensed by busses, enjoying the pidgeon entertainment and all to notice the minute and obvious. When I visit a city now, the motion, smells, 3 dimensions and wind overwhelm. Thank you for reminding me.

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John Anderson Jan 23, 2006, 8:16am EST

I have been something of a recluse for some years, only going out to eat or take in the occasional movie. Thanks for giving me something to think about.

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Cat Givens Jan 23, 2006, 8:29am EST

"When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can alway go....
Downtown" - Petula Clark

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Comments: 8

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