Bland On Bland – Busses

The theme for this week’s JVG Radio Method poem is “Busses“.

Coventry UK: Back in the UK again and I’ve finally thrown off the shackles of jet lag courtesy of several pints of tepid beer and some great music last night at Taylor Johns in the Canal Basin supplied by Matt Campbell, Boxcar Aldous Huxley and a totally insane but brilliant American singer banjo player named Curtis Eller

It seems only right that this weeks offering should reflect my adopted surrounds.

To play this poem directly in your browser – just click the “play” button below:
[audio:JVG_Poem20110424.mp3]

Also have a listen to my new EP “Once We Were Kings Of The World”

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Busses

Halls filled with cars, prized to the last
Names, many famous, consigned to the past

Rover and Riley, Sunbeam and Humber
Names, like the factories, now few in their number

There, in the transport museum it sits
A shrine to the city that rose from the blitz

A bus, double decker, duco, mid blue
A symbol of what perseverance can do

That bus owes its fame to one single ride
When it ferried, victorious, the town’s football side

Coventry City, “Sky Blues” to their fans
For over a hundred years also rans

The FA Cup, the jewel in the crown
The solitary time it came to this town

From the deck of the bus, players rose to the cheers
Besieged by the crowd, many in tears

One moment eternal, though its tenure proved brief
In an era of hardship, brought blessed relief

Here, in this hall, spared traffic and grime
This bus and its history survive beyond time

It stands amongst friends that once carried this city
Disappeared, but in name, with the jobs, mores’ the pity

Morris, Triumph, Hillman, long gone
Massey Ferguson, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, moved on

Here victory’s relived, again and again
Sealed in a bubble, the good times remain

In the hearts of the faithful, well used to defeat
That bus, one day, will return to the street

© Copyright 2011 Ian Bland