My City, a poem by James Miller

Red bus, black cab, the boats, the tube,

Earls Court, the Apollo, Round House, the O2,

Northern, Central, the Jubilee Line,

this wonderful capital city of mine.

Buckingham Palace, the Tower, the Crown,

Bermondsey, Bow and Camden Town,

the crowded tube platforms, the 'please mind the gap',

the coloured spaghetti of the underground map.

The Gherkin, the Eye, the Shard and Big Ben,

the square mile of London filled with business men,

the West End shows, that are bold and with flair,

the hordes of lost tourists in Trafalgar Square.

The hustle, the bustle, the crowds on the street,

the huge selection of places to eat,

the local, the Borough, and the Royal Parks,

the concrete, the urban, the iconic landmarks.

Whitechapel, Brick Lane, the Ripper, the Krays,

the daily commute, the 'severe delays',

the Thames with its quays, its wharfs and its locks,

the towers and skyscrapers of the London Docks.

The slick city life, the city wine bars,

the smoke, the pollution, that rubs out the stars.

A place full of tales, some pretty, some gritty,

ten million reasons why I love this city.

Written by James Miller

I am a 26 year old writer living in London. I come from an acting background originally having trained professionally at University. I started writing properly about two years ago, starting out writing for theatre. Writing short stories and poetry is something a little more recent to me but is where I feel I have progressed most as a writer. What I love about writing poetry is the freedom that you have with it, unlike writing for theatre where you have boundaries, with stories and poetry you can take it wherever you wish, no matter how far fetched. I tend to just write anything that inspires me at that exact time, which can range from anything, from a light-hearted tribute to my home town to a poem expressing my views on particular issues such as politics or addiction . I am currently working on a novel at the moment  as well as a selection of short stories and poems which I am eventually looking to publish.