Then and Now

A memory from a black and white photo

dahlias of delight
compete in blossomed loveliness
to enthrall visitors
as they peer over
a picket fence
on their descent to
the basement door
of flat thirty two

a riot of summer colour
for young eyes to drink in
before greeting green paint
parched and crying out thirsty
for a fresh coat

displays of dazzling
creme de cassis
café au Kaitlyn
an overspill of pom poms
and ragged two tone skirts
splashes of vivid purples
roaring reds intermingle with
sunshine yellows
a returning reminisce
of garden glory

restored from monochrome
to warm midweek greys
a bouquet of sunshine in a
postage stamp of colour
in our once beautiful
capital city
in days of safety
before the crime wave set in
and the drum beat of unrest
was heard

Reviews

[red93]

Ooh you are stirring the memories now Chris. I spent a lot of time in London in my Uni days - most of my Friends at Uni were Londoners - and I remember what a vibrant and generally happy City it was in the 70s. I don't think the same could be said now. Really nicely penned ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Tony, I was born in Hammersmith. The city of my birth is now unrecognizable sadly. So much for progress. Pleased I can still remember it and write about it, as it was. Have a great day.

Chris

[Pete]

things were growing just fine up until the disturbing, troubling ending. intriguing descriptions. things change and we call it progress? eden is no more. great poetry chris.

[Chris Shaw]

Things have certainly changed. Never go back to the city of my birth now Pete. I don’t recognize it. Fortunately my memory is still good. Many thanks for your kind thoughts Pete.

Chris

[Desert Knave]

So many images here, and looking at it from the fact that it came from a black-and-white photo makes it all the more colorful. Hopefully the colours will always return, even if just in the poet's eyes. ~Jim

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Jim for sharing your thoughts. Thankfully I can remember colour. All the best. read moreThank you so much Jim for sharing your thoughts. Thankfully I can remember colour. All the best.

Chris

[Christine]

I can picture the dahlias you describe so eloquently, with their amazing colours, so job well done! Where would we be without colour in our world?
A lovely piece. Thank you for sharing it.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much for your visit and for sharing your thoughts. Pleased you enjoyed this poem Christine. All the best.

Chris

[Neville]

It is clear to me you have the knack of capturing moments past & setting them free to be wild again in their very own poetry .. and you do it so often and so well too .. Neville

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Neville and good day to you. I do like to bring the past back to life. It’s not that I don’t like living in the present, because the present becomes the past quickly. It’s more to provide a historical canvas, for those who might follow me. Talking about my legacy here to my nearest and dearest. I really appreciate your kind comments. Have a beautiful day and don’t work too hard.

Chris 💜

[Neville]

it seems we are like minded then doesn't it .. Neville 💜

[Lorry]

Funny how a black and white picture can explode colours in your memory.
In the house I grew up in, we used to have an old room used for coal that only had access from outside with a key. Latterly a wall was knocked down to make it into a new and bigger kitchen but I still remember the shade of green the door was painted. It was what id call dull corporation green, because the corpy, which later became whatever we call public transport these days used to have similar colour upholstered on their seating.
I bet if it's on the dulux colour chart it still has a sample like institutionalised green, because they used to have a talent for painting institutions like school hallways in these disgusting colours too.
I do remember looking at black and white pics of my older family and remember asking mum what life was like before they invented colour. When she found out I thought everything was black and white, including people, trees and grass, she done a very unmotherly thing and laughed hysterically at me for being so stupid!
But never fear, I got over it and you can barely notice the twitch and stammer any more! 😀

[Chris Shaw]

Thank goodness for colour Lorry. And thank goodness for memory. Fortunately mine is still functioning on all four cylinders and I remember very much the beautiful dahlias in my Nan’s front postage stamp garden. Corporation green made me laugh. Yep, I can remember it well. Sickly wasn’t it. Give me a deep forest green any day. I just realized that I have a hidden talent. I can turn monochrome into colour. I doubt it it will benefit me financially though. Thanks so much for the smikes. Have a great day.

Chris

[Weeping willow]

Beautifully expressed in such a way that the colors flow out of your words and I imagine a wonderful garden of colorful flowers ;-]

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Willow. It is lovely to have a visit from you. Do hope you are hapoy and healthy. Take care of yourself.

Chris 🌹

[Betty Hermelee]

Dear Chris...a great comparison of what once was and what is now... I can say the same for NYC where I just returned from....I love your magnificent words to portray the colors, the smells, the texture of lovely nature, be it short-lived..."a riot of color for young eyes to drink in"....."sunshine yellows"....Now we can only remember the beauty...in our mind's eye....
Warmly, B

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Betty. Seems you are experiencing over the pond, what we have here. So much for progress eh? Somehow the past seems a much safer place to dwell these days. Memories remind us of then and now. Have a beautiful day Betty. 🌹

Chris

[Betty Hermelee]

Thank you dear Chris, you as well!
Warmly, B

[Soren]

Chris this poem is a beautiful garden of flowers a peaceful scene where weeds grow beneath the surface and overtake what was once beautiful and now dreams of past memories remain. This is my dark view of a covering of blooming memories overtaken by crime and urban sprawl. A brighter view may well be seen in a garden planted over land separated from the city blight. A lovely metaphor and poem

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Soren. Fortunately for me, I don’t live in the capital and haven’t done for sometime. The area which used to be our family home has changed beyond all recognition. Beset with crime these days. I appreciate you stopping by. All the best.

Chris

[Soren]

You are most welcome