26 February 2022

#26 - Contorted Strangler

 (Elizabeth McGeown)


Squamanita contortipes


This one is not the sonnet I had planned.
It would have been a cautionary tale
of London-based Victoriana and
a gentleman who felt his life was stale.

He thought of it as 'roughing it' when he
performed his daily constitutional
along the alleys and the lanes and breathed
raw sewage mixed with perfume that was all

around. He watched the ladies peddle wares.
He helped one to her feet when drunk, she fell.
He walked her homeI want to shout beware!
But that's not what I'm here tonight to tell.

A man whose gross ambition makes him bold
wants Europe in his frenzied stranglehold.

EM


Image via thetravel.com


No comments:

Post a Comment