Green Park
- Details
- Written October 2011
Deck chairs angled onto the last notch of relaxation
Watching trainers and stilettos, sandals and flip-flops,
Plimsolls and pumps, clogs and thongs
Passing by, but some with nothing on
Their feet blistered after a day out in London.
Rucksacks and pannier bags, satchels and plastic bags,
Strollers and wheel-chairs, mp3 players and mobiles,
Suitcases, cabin bags; laptop over one shoulder
With pin stripe jacket over the other well before closing time.
The adrenalin stirring up guilt about this doing nothing,
So go somewhere, do something and don’t just laze here.
Shall it be north to the shoppers of Piccadilly
Or south to join tourists on The Mall?
I’ll stay put for now and pick up a pen instead
And find Bob Law with nothing on page three [1]
His canvas blank, providing me with space to say something
That may mean nothing - that’s what it cost me.
But my hour has come, the ticket collector’s arrived
So we move to the bench where you can rest in peace
And carry on doing nothing.
October 2011
An afternoon’s relaxation in Green Park
For photographs click here: Around Green Park, London
[1] Page three of the Metro had an article about the minimalist work, "Nothing to be Afraid of V 22.8.69". This is a large, blank white canvas that has just the date written in the bottom corner. It is by British artist Bob Law. It is expected to be sold for about £60,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams' contemporary art sale in October 2011. ‘The spare emptiness projects an experience of a serenity of presence’, says the Tate Gallery about the piece
Below - A poem in the making: preliminary scribbles on the blank canvas on page three of The Metro while in Green Park.
Below - A poem in the making: preliminary scribbles on the blank canvas on page three of The Metro while in Green Park.
