Mr. Hopkins Visits A Council Flat

Always having had an interest in poetry I watched a programme about Gerald Manley Hopkins and afterwards felt moved to write this little poem.

Mr. Hopkins Visits A Council Flat

They say, write of beauty,

Of 'dappled things'

And 'brindled cows'

Daffodils and running brooks.

Speak of beauty you ask

When my daily view

Is concrete, graffiti,

Rubbish and puke,

Results of over indulgence,

Seasonal folly

A 'trying to forget.'

Beauty, beauty, beauty,

I do see it

In people,

So often buried

Deep, deep down,

Occasionally seen in a smile

And laughing eyes.

Man used to smile often

But then forgot how,

So God sent him from the garden

To live on a council estate,

Then moved in next door.

Funny thing is

People think he's the caretaker

And responsible

For throwing beauty away.

Gordon Banks (c) 6^th January 1986.