The Dear Green Place

A poem as part of my college project I'm currently working on. It looks at Glasgow, the city where I'm from, and the problems that exist here.

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

Well known for its climate.

Our city’s so warm

that even in the winter

People are sleeping outside.

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

Famous for its smile

Just walk through the streets

And you’ll see people wearing it

across their face with pride

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

And its kiss

What could be more intimate

Than pressing into a stranger

After a few exchanged words

 

That’s a welcome,

 

Welcome to our wonderful city

 

Where the people are so friendly,

They’ll ask you where you’re from

Just for walking down the street

Then tell you to head back there

For fear that you’ll get homesick

 

Isn’t that so considerate?

 

And isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

And strangers will approach you

Because they think you look run down

To oh so graciously relieve you

of the burden

Of the weight of your wallet

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

There’s an abundance of mothers

But fathers seem to disappear

So the children are kind enough

To share their own

 

between three or four families

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

If you’re unfit like most

You shouldn’t worry about a gym

Kids’ll chase you home

Just to make sure you’re getting enough exercise

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

Our public transport’s so cheap

That even those without a job

Only need forty pence

to make it home

 

That’s a bargain

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

And if you ride your bike home,

We’ve put potholes in the road

And the busses

They’ll try to knock you off,

 

We try to make it fun, like an assault course

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

And don’t worry about being unemployed

It’s nothing to be ashamed of

Within our concrete Green Place,

You’re almost in the majority.

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

You don’t need to speak English

Just the language of love

And you can have a job

Selling roses in the streets

 

Supposedly Romani is the Italian sports car of the flower world

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

And though poverty is high

don’t worry

We replaced all of our local shops

With Poundlands and Pawn Stores,

 

That’s a city for the people

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

And as for having fun,

We let the children drink every night,

You can try heroin

Or bathe in the pure waters of the Clyde,

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

This city’s so generous,

We looked at Ireland’s war

And offered just to take them off its hands,

 

Now we wave the flags

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

 

It may not be the capital

Or be famed for its castle

And it may not be the dream

That you might hope for

 

But it has heart

It has culture

It has character

It has soul

 

It has style and it’s everything we know,

 

It might not be perfect

But it’s ours

And it’s home

 

And that’s why we wear it on our sleeves with pride

 

Isn’t this a wonderful city?

Reviews

[Thomas Skahill]

haha funny and smart, really liked this piece.