Daybreak In Newcastle Poem by Paul Reed

Feet fall flat, echoes unheard
Shops 'To Let',
And woodpigeons in pairs
The silent central motorway I crossed
On a steel bridge and ramps
To a curling flight of stairs

I walked through Newcastle at daybreak
Advertising hoarding squeaking
And groaning as the wind blows
Samsung Galaxy, only seen by me
Young man lying in a doorway
Dead or alive, who knows?

Do I own this empty city?
As the sun glanced at dusty facades
And litter tumbled in gutters
Has the world died overnight?
And left only me
To stare at these locked-down shutters

I am all alone in my reverie
Amidst guanoed parapets and ledges
My mind drifting along on the breeze
In this world of rooks and starlings
Stalled cars and abandoned tin cans
City gates without their keys