The Streets of London

 

These well trodden thoroughfares cannot speak for themselves

but they are the libraries of memories stored over time

Pavements, pedestrian crossings and colonades of buildings

which once saw and heard the drone of German bombers

Ambulances, fire engines and police cars with bells ringing

raced to and fro as fires blazed and people screamed

Streets like human veins, a city´s life blood 

were strewn with fallen masonry as Satan´s hand

delivered blow upon blow to obliterate the city below

Doorways sheltered terrified faces as others fled

to seek refuge in the Undergound or in air raid shelters

Flames scoured the blackout as silhouettes

dodged about in an armageddon of howling and crashing sounds

The streets heard the waves of enemy bombers

along with the fierce retort of anti aircraft guns which pounded the night air

Streets, parks, avenues, tramlines and subways

witnessed the horror of it all as humanity froze in terror

Shrapnel smashed windows, the shards of indiscriminate evil

where tarmac melted beneath the feet of those demented with fear

Street lamps drooped in the searing heat of the onslaught

Streets lined with of shops, pubs and cafes

became the macabre audience of this ritual nightmare

These same streets are here today, well ordered

as also are we who walk along them