Skyscrapers pierce the sullen sky,
Smoke from factories chokes the air
Settling on houses making their bricks black,
A weeping willow hangs with despair
Over a pond the color of coal,
There are no longer any birds to feed,
Instead rubbish floats on the pond,
And a dustbin lid lies by the road.
Cigarette butts blow from the pavement,
Drains stink of raw sewage,
A rat scampers from a split refuse bag
And scurries into the park which is dark
'Though it's only three in the afternoon,
But clouds like sacks of soot
Have killed the sun and brought gloom;
The only sounds are a dog's bark,
And a church bell clangs with doom.
The church is covered with graffiti,
Its windows are smeared with grime,
The church stands alone by the road
As shops nearby have closed;
The organ plays and people pine
Hymns that can't be recognized;
A tramp squats in the churchyard,
Injecting his arm,
While a boy urinates by the church gate,
And a woman crouches by one of the graves,
Tears streaming her sunken face.
