Bloomsbury memories

Umbrella in hand,
Topcoat draped across the arm
Walking through the grey mist of a London Spring;
Heels clicking on the cobblestones
Stepping smartly between the columns
At the entrance to the British Museum
On my way to University College London
And back to Goodge Street.

The bright sunshine of May
Springs forth through the clouds
And the flowers wear their finery
From the gardens of Russell Square
While the tall-hatted gentleman
Ushers me in to his hotel's lobby
When I am late for lectures, museums and plays.

Sharing a pint in a green velvet pub
Decorated with portraits of Dickens and Woolf
And Yeats and Darwin
The echo of their footsteps lead us onward
From Victoria and Albert
To their grandson, King George V,
Who honored his duty in response
To his brother's flight
With the woman he loved
Shedding the flesh and blood behind
For the marble statues of Buckingham and Trafalgar Square .

Good old Jeremy
Is sitting in his box
As an example for the generations to follow :
Let us gather together
And ponder his lesson
Or follow Oscar's example
And appreciate the beauty
Of a simple Easter lily,
Warding off the Phillistines,
Waiting in the groceries and gas stations
And airports of America.