City of the Mindful Heart. For KV.
The inhabitants are rightly proud –
let’s take the guided tour…
they show you first (they’ve never been inside,
themselves.. though they know someone who has…)
the Palace, it’s still called,
the seat of government… throughout
its sometimes turbulent, sometimes complacent rule,
it’s stood for that central place where golden hearts
seek unity in national multiplicity;
and seek to care for multiplicity…
not far away, that great domed building,
it’s been temple, church, mosque in its time,
been desecrated, restored, so many times;
and truth to tell, while it’s the symbol
of the nation, there are many more
who are proud of it, than have entered it…
here too, a quiet place to find
the unity in multiplicity…
what will they show you next? Depends…
The lively Central Market, vivid in that multiplicity?
The great Museum and Library, where
The nation’s treasures (and some plunder
from the glory years of empires won and lost)
gleam like golden giants to our pygmy eyes?
Or perhaps the huge, round, stone Arena
where in former years, men fought to death
(some say it’s coming back..): celebrated
battles won; fireworks, clowns and circuses –
whatever brought the greatest crowds;
here – appalled, delighted, bored - you’ll bring
the children anyway – you’ll see what ‘popular’
means, this very day…
Traffic regulations, ever tighter, now control your tour;
a glimpse of lakes and parks perhaps;
city dwellers recovering their humanity;
a place to be themselves, and know it.
Unless you ask – guidebook carefully perused
before your trip – they’ll miss out that quiet
‘residential area’ full of blue plaques (no time to read) ,
where peacefully, behind closed doors,
individuals adventure far into the mind;
fantasise; invent; look deep into the heart;
their passports are well stamped; and yet
there are no frontiers here.
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poem by Michael Shepherd
Added by Poetry Lover
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