by Cecilia Xu

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Church bells chiming
Poets rhyming
Raindrops falling
Parkland sprawling

Banners swaying
Brass bands playing
Squirrels dashing
River splashing

Royals waving
Red brick paving
Castles rising
Birds surprising

Ice cream scooping
Pigeons pooping
Pound cake baking
History-making

Libraries hushing
Locals rushing
Clouds obscuring
Tea-procuring

Buses rumbling
Buildings crumbling
Tube lines screeching
Swans beseeching

Buskers singing
Phone booths ringing
Sparrows hopping
Popcorn popping

Cathedrals arching
Protest marching
Taxis swerving
Eye observing

Deadpan faces
Ancient places
Bike wheels turning
Bridges burning

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Cecilia Xu is a Chinese-Kiwi doctor and poet living in Melbourne. She has published over 30 poems and essays, with work appearing in journals such as the New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, Signals and Verge. When she’s not writing she can be found playing music and petting other people’s dogs.