Larkin 25 - A Park for the People By Gary Clark

Built on some land on the wrong side of town A sweetener for the people whose houses they pulled down Provided by money from the Queens Jubilee A gift from the council for the new community The mud, the dog mess, and overgrown rose beds Where once it was new and pristine and clean A place to admired, a place to be seen A rusty red car that the local kids had dumped Torched like a bonfire Their idea of fun Discarded tyres hang from the trees With plastic carriers Flapping in the breeze. The slide doesn't slide The swings they don't swing The councillor says its nowt to do with him. An air of despair, neglect and run down Now that the budget is spent in another part of town Where the newly painted framework had started to rust Someone sprayed a poem about Sharon getting shagged on the bus. Phone numbers, messages and Rob Roy was here Left by people who are empty and kids with no fear. The place is forgotten, the place stinks of pee Discarded beer cans and the broken glass The council cannot be bothered to even cut the grass. Flea bitten pigeons feeding on last nights cold chips And dusty old sparrows fight for the bits The latchkey children still laughed and they cried This was the place they used to come and hide A place of adventure, a place of fun, a good place to go while you wait for your mum

Just behind the toilets where the kids used to play They found the old tramp dead where he lay Hunched up and bedraggled he lay in his own piss Whoever thought it would come to this? The old guy we all knew who was always so proud He lay there stinking like a bag of rubbish someone has found. Old Bill was the keeper when the park was brand new Proud and efficient and he looked after you. A man to rely on, he was always around, older kids said he was as sound as a pound. Bill was discarded when the money ran out Hit the bottle when the wife kicked him out Old Bill had been broken it was easy to see. Thrown on the scrap heap by some faceless committee. His dreams had been stamped on, his money all spent Poor Bill got worse and never worked again A place in the dole queue was all he had left The giros soon stopped when he had no address. Sleeping in the bushes, a bottle for a friend This is a sad day for a mans life to end. Now that the councillors say the moneys all been spent Why spend on parks when people cannot pay the rent? They all kept their cars, and expense sheets, holidays in France And stopping in gites. Old Bill Berry's memorial is just in the peoples memory A fitting reminder to the Queens Jubilee. The park's now a shambles, falling to bits, Until the next council election when it will be high on the list.

Copyright © Gary Clark 2009

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