Say 'night-life' and picture where the wild things
hunt along surreptitious byways
or flip a coin and scan a panoramic London vibe
the gatherings that drink and chink in luminous offices
so much laughter, so many jostling for position
cramped as cranes alongside their glass-eyed constructs
they blink and sniff red-nosed at the skyline
where helicopters probe like city raptors
riverboats become bars and bars swim
with spilt liquor and the swell of voices
begging to be heard - rough sleepers plea too
their dogs wrenching coins from kind hearts
only the backstreet resonates with rural roots
rats make a bid for the refuse bins
foxes follow glove-footed in their tracks
out of a side door a girl tumbles in the gutter
predators in parked cars seize the moment
Kim prompts us to pen some lines for a night time view of a real or imagined city
PoetryPix 
I love this, Laura! Your poem has captured the sides of London I don’t miss, with those red-nosed city types and raptors, and the second stanza is spot on!
the darker side of city life painted here Kim as my first thought was of rural night hunters – that would be your domain!
😊
You gave us the wild side of city life from surreptitious byways, rough sleepers and people as predators waiting to seize a moment to rob someone~ This is other side of city living and I see it too in my city sadly ~
The grunge and cutting edge of city nightlife has a certain thrill too
“where the wild things hunt along surreptitious byways” “helicopters probe like city raptors” “riverboats become bars and bars swim with spilt liquor” – what’s not to make me go ‘way-hay!’ What a fine evocation of sleazy city living, Laura.
What a fine comment Tish – feel quite bolstered now – thank you
So glad about that. Bolstered – we could all do with a bit of that now and then, but only metaphorically speaking. The other sort seems to fly unseen out of the stratosphere and then materialize on one’s waistline.
Just back from the gym and caught sight of my bolster – eek!
Such moments are not good. Stand up tall and it won’t seem so bad 🙂
🙄 😎
Could almost be a Dickensian London Laura. Fabulous.
Chuffed with the near comparison – maybe because much of Dickens’ London is all around me here so thank you Paul
The latter part of the poem took me there for sure.
So many faces of the city.. the danger and threat, the predators and wildlife.. there is a sense of city-jungle…
the herds and their predators that congregate here make the concrete jungle come alive!