Index:
- MILL ROAD 2018 – Ed Jenkins
- CHANGING TIMES – Jonny Warnes
- THE HEARTBEAT OF THE CITY – Carol Ann Wood
- Montreal Square: The Social Glue – Carol Ann Wood
Mill Road 2018
Dome to steeple,
Steeple to dome;
Lots of people,
But is this home?!
Many issues,
Opinions abound;
Sometimes there’s action,
Little turning round!
Cultures potent,
Religions fixed;
Differences latent.
No trust betwixt!
Magic has colour,
Black or white;
But with one another,
Surely the Spectrum’s right!
Is life here tranquil,
Or is there strife?
Do we have serendipity,
Or a humdrum life?
Mill Road is hip,
I must have missed a trick!
Is Mill Road fab?
No, it’s just drab!
New for old,
Planners at work,
Leaves me cold,
Peering through the murk!
People together?
Seldom, if ever!
Much endeavour, some
at the end of their tether!
Sense of community?
You must be mistaken!
The surface looks smooth,
But under it’s broken!
What of the future?
Just more change for change’s sake!
God’s will may nurture,
But perhaps only heartache!
Once upon a time in Romsey Town
People were happy, no one was down;
Young and old knew how to thrive,
Everyone seemed glad to be alive.
How no more boom,
Everything’s doom and gloom!
What goes around, comes around so they say;
So there’ll be prosperity again, one day.
Ed Jenkins
Originally printed in the Cambridge Independent 25th April 2018
Changing times
Changing times and rolling stones,
Thee sixties clichés all gone home.
And what are we left with after the boomer’s have burst?
A hunger for knowledge? A beautiful thirst?
Expanding our beings toinfinite heights
Taking our fantasies out for aflight.
Enjoy this spring morning and this poem with Love.
May your hearts drain ov their sorrow and all soar like doves.
(The Late) Jonny Warnes
The Heartbeat Of The City
In celebration of the Mill Road, Cambridge
The heartbeat of the city lies here
In the aroma of the spices,
The streaming of the students,
The chatter of the children,
And the vibes that fill the air.
The heartbeat of the city
Starts here, where babies
Once took their first breath,
Where the local traders toiled.
This space is ours to share.
This is where the real folk are,
An eclectic mix of ethnicity,
Creating our own blend of sparking electricity.
The heartbeat of the city
Can be heard as cyclists’ wheels clatter,
And their sound meets coffee drinkers’ pavement chatter.
All life is here.
The parents to-ing and fro-ing,
The buzz of academia
And thirst for knowledge growing.
This is where the real folk live, laugh and love.
Where they cry, and where they sing.
It’s where they meet to build bridges,
And drink to hopeful things.
The heartbeat of the city
Lies not just in the splendid buildings
Built for the privileged few,
But here, in the Bath House,
And the chapels, and the railway workers’ homes
That quickly grew.
In the Mosque, the Temple,
In the rich diversity that we embrace without hate
Which is our one adversary.
The heartbeat of the city lies here,
Where Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs,
Buddhists and Atheists alike
Embrace ideas and share our thoughts.
Here, where fairs are held to celebrate
Our corner of the world
And where we march to speak
For freedom and for choice.
We gather here for those without a voice.
This is where the people spread a spirit
Which they say must never die.
This is where the people care
Because Mill Road matters
And that is why
The heartbeat of the city lies here.
© Carol Ann Wood
October 2016