All Life is in Blackpool

Image © Gerald England

              "ALL LIFE IS IN BLACKPOOL"

              Inside the Tower

              mirrors distort,

              lights play music,

              children act out

              their fantasies

              in a mock jungle,

              while everyone dances

              to the organ

              that rises from the floor;

              there is laughter in shadows,

              an infinity of illusions;

              Victorian opulence

              and video creations

              share a world

              with pirhanas and cichlids,

              and turtles that collide in tanks.

              Five hundred feet and more above,

              the scene is of a model town

              where humanoid ants move about

              and toy cars park on roofs -

              tyre-tracks doodle on sand,

              the horizon stretching

              to far off cities

              and to northern hills.

              Up here is the clear view

              shut out only

              by the safety net;

              from here

              the only

                       way

                           is

                              DOWN.

              © GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Blackpool, 22nd June 1989

Publication

1999 Manifold (UK)