The feral streets

Phil Roberts 1957 (Melbourne)



On Footscray's lonely winter paths
Muggers walk the night,
Good people live in terror
The police nowhere in sight.

On Footscray's darkened roadways
Druggies stalk their prey,
Content to walk in moonlight
Where they know the police won't stray.

The muggers and the druggies
Control old Footscray's streets,
The law-abiding cower inside
Afraid of who they'll meet.

Yelling strange and foul abuse
Beggars with their hands held out,
The poor and lonely have to give
From fear of those who tout.

Winos of both sexes
Shout out slurred abuses,
The terrified stay locked indoors
Forced to live life as recluses.

Night-time  now is never safe
In Footscray's torrid ways,
So inside hide the innocent
Awaiting break of day.

THE END
© Copyright 2021Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by PHIL_ROBERTS on May 03, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
1

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXB CDBD AXXX XEXE XXXA XCXD XXX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 757
Words 127
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3

Phil Roberts

I turn 65 on the 31st of January 2022. I love cats, rock music, and horror fiction and poetry more…

All Phil Roberts poems | Phil Roberts Books

7 fans

Discuss the poem "The feral streets" with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The feral streets" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/98961/the-feral-streets>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    12
    days
    20
    hours
    23
    minutes

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which poet is known for writing "Ode to a Nightingale"?
    A William Wordsworth
    B John Keats
    C Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    D Percy Bysshe Shelley