William Oxley
from London Visions
The Tube
Troglodytes in Armani suits
and gilt women - the
unquestioning quests of work
and rich shopping.
The hiker heading High Barnet way
the naturalist for Ongar,
and tourist for mostanywhere-
London.
Hopping on this hell-simulator
between Bond Street
and Baron’s Court, or Camden
and Charing Cross, is
voluntary euthanasia of day-
light...giving up stars
and streetlamps of Embankment
for nights of smooth-tiled
permanent twilight. There
never has been anywhere above ground
life could not start up:
communities in deserts and
strangly jungles. But this?
This is hollowed-out life. Less
human and vibrant than
meat-smelling neolithic caves
where fire burst from floors,
shadows danced their
ideas and civilisation
became possible.
Page(s) 83
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The