Culture Poem by Martin Ward

Culture: ambition of an alchemist;
mixture in a Petri dish:
all of this and more.

See the metamorphosis
of inner-city streets
and hidden places,
where spray-can Canalettos
light the darkness.

Discover it here:
seek the hidden gems
of them that are forgotten
or overlooked by the mainstream.
Dare to dream. Inspire a city.

Beat box Binge
and do the Wright thing:
paint it; hear it;
speak it; sign it;
rhyme it anytime
it shouts out screaming
like a back street muse,
waiting to get out.

Amusements arcades
in gaudy hues, callout tunes
in ring-a-ding win or lose.
Far removed from verdant parks
where concrete marks the place
of long-lamented bandstands.

Pity those who kick the Petri dish,
until it lands face-down
to reveal the mixture
turned solid gold.
Largely untold; undersold
until now: our story; our time.

The world, turned upside down
by Our Industrial Revolution;
Our Enlightenment.

Culture: here and now
in this place, in every face
you see or touch.

Here it begins. Again.