Compulsion

We wait for our hot chocolate, mine with foam

And hers with cream. The crowded red and chrome

Engulfs us, lets us watch the people walk

Alone, in pairs, or families – home from home.

The great machine of greed applies it's torque;

It reels us in, follows behind to stalk

Our dreams; compulsion where there was delight

Strikes, with the beauty of the wheeling hawk.

Constructed cave of twenty-four-hour night

Is artificially lit to crazy-bright,

With electronic noise, and heat and cold.

Yet nothing can eclude your tender might:

The rose so soft, strelizias spiked and bold,

Gentle voice and muffled footfalls hold

The promise of the bark of dogs and dome

Of stars. Your love must even here be told.

...on Claremont urban hub...

I stand and watch as people pass me by

Unknowing as this place controls, confines.

Are there those who can in strength defy?

I feel your weariness, I breathe your sigh;

The drudgery groans and grates and grinds;

I keep my watch as now you pass me by.

I catch excitement glinting in your eye;

Some vibrant venture's voice your life defines –

And yet, I guess, your strength cannot defy

These forces that allow for no reply.

Worker, owner, client: each resigns

Their will; and watch as people pass them by,

Their value measured by how much they buy.

I scent alluring lies, their lustrous lines

Embalming those who could in strength defy.

Beyond the gilt I sense the silent cry,

But living grace sets free where image binds;

I, hopeful, watch as people pass me by,

There are those who can by stealth defy.

2007, Villanelle