Week 4: A London Thoroughfare, Amy Lowell

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We hope you enjoy the final poem by Amy Lowell.

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A London Thoroughfare by Amy Lowell

They have watered the street,
It shines in the glare of lamps,
Cold, white lamps,
And lies
Like a slow-moving river,
Barred with silver and black.
Cabs go down it,
One,
And then another.
Between them I hear the shuffling of feet.
Tramps doze on the window-ledges,
Night-walkers pass along the sidewalks.
The city is squalid and sinister,
With the silver-barred street in the midst,
Slow-moving,
A river leading nowhere.

Opposite my window,
The moon cuts,
Clear and round,
Through the plum-coloured night.
She cannot light the city;
It is too bright.
It has white lamps,
And glitters coldly.

I stand in the window and watch the moon.
She is thin and lustreless,
But I love her.
I know the moon,
And this is an alien city.

19 thoughts on “Week 4: A London Thoroughfare, Amy Lowell

  1. LONDON IN THE DARK
    In Archway it’s dark.
    There are no dogs in the park,
    It’s quiet but the lights are shining
    Bright, at an immense height.

    London has a lot of lights .
    Even on the London Eye,
    But not higher than the sky.
    some people are scared of the dark,
    even though it shines like a firework.
    So the only place to go now is your own home,
    On your own.

  2. London at night
    The glare of the light
    Shine in your eyes
    It’s too bright at night
    Especially in oxford street
    And many touristic places
    The moon doesn’t help
    She cannot shine the city
    All you can hear is the sound of shuffling feet
    If you look at of your window I’ll be bright
    Because of the shop light …
    Is the only thing the thing that will get your attention

  3. London
    London is great!But sometimes it’s not.
    Cold homeless people with
    no food.so they get in a bad mood.
    Cabs driving’
    one
    by
    one.As they go down.Lots of colourful ligh
    is there an alien invasion?
    The lights are jealous
    so they lit up,brighter
    than the moon!She was sad,i felt sorry
    for the moon as well
    This is London

    By:Ling-ling c:

  4. They have uplifted the streets
    Pitch black at night
    They make this place feel just right
    Multi-coloured bursting through the sky
    Bright colours trickling down
    No one around
    Just me in my zone
    All alone

    In the dingy alleyway
    Sits a vagrant
    He’s dependant
    He needs someone to spend the night with
    A companion,everyone needs help

    Everyone is special just like fireworks in the night

  5. They have built the streets
    The street lamps shine like the sun
    Cold white snow
    And ice
    Melting like an ice cube
    Coloured with the rainbow
    Cabs go down the shiny road
    one
    and another

    I can see birds flying high from my window
    People laughing on window ledges
    Bright people passing along the river themes
    The city is cold and dark
    The bright coloured street lamps in the dark
    People leading into no where

    People opposite my window
    are playing bingo
    The children playing in the streets
    all gather up and meet
    Through the dark night
    we could see people fight
    Its too bright
    To fly a kite
    I stand by my window watching the sun
    The sun is round and yellow
    But i love her
    Good bye sun i will see you tomorrow

  6. I stand in the window and watch the light of the city
    Looking out of my window
    The city shines at night
    And the stars look like balls of light
    Birds at midnight are flying so high

    Opposite my window
    In the corner of my eye
    Clear and bright buildings
    Stand as still as statues

    Through the dark night,
    The city is as blinding as the sun

  7. They have watered the street,
    It shines majestically in the glare of lamps,
    Cold,white lamps,
    Shimmering in the night,
    Barred with silver and black,
    Like a slow moving river.
    Cabs go down it,
    One,
    And then another,
    I hear the shuffling of feet.
    Tramps doze dreaming for a better tomorrow,
    Night walkers pass along the sidewalks,
    This city is unique and unpredictable,
    Slow moving is the river Thames,
    Gracefully spinning is the London Eye,
    The never talking Walkie Talkie,
    And the never ending Shard,
    All glistening in the Moonlight

    I stand in the window and watch the Moon
    She can just about light the city,
    But she can definitely light up your face.
    She’s a strong, independent figure,
    And I love her,
    I know the Moon,
    A river leading nowhere,

    YEAH THIS IS MY CITY.

  8. They have watered the street ,
    It shines in the glare of lamp
    The white lamp is as cold as ice .
    And people that cant stop lying.
    Like snow moving on the river.
    Between the shard and the queen’s palace shuffling.
    Night-walkers pass along buildings and buildings.
    The city is squalid and sinister,with the silver-barred street in the midst,slow-moving.
    I stand next to my window,and steer at the moon This city is amazing.

  9. They have cleared the street,
    It shines in the glare of the lamps,
    Warm, white lamps
    And runs,
    Like a slow-moving river,
    Barred with silver and black,
    Cabs go down it,
    One,
    And then another.
    Between them I hear the shuffling of feet.
    Citizens doze on their beds,
    Night-walkers pass along the sidewalks.
    The city is clean and lovely,
    With the silver-barred street in the midst,
    Slow-moving,
    A river leading somewhere.

    Opposite my window,
    The moon heals ,
    clear and round,
    Through the plum-colored night.
    She can light the city;
    It is bright.
    It has wight lamps,
    And glitters warmly.

    I stand in the window and watch the moon.
    She is amazing,
    And i love her.
    I know the moon,
    And this is an amazing city.

  10. city
    alien
    but i love her
    watred
    cabs
    doze
    midst
    shines
    cold
    river
    clear
    lustreless
    white
    barred
    sliver
    night -walkers
    moon
    nice
    good
    grate

  11. They have change the streets
    It shines in the glare of leister square
    Cold white lamps
    And lies
    Like a slow -moving river
    Barred with sliver and black
    Cabs go down it,
    One,
    And then anther.
    Between them i hear the shffing of feet.
    Along every street
    Nitght-walkers pass along the sidewalks.
    The city is beautiful and booming,
    With the sliver-barred street in the midst,
    Slow moving with
    A river leading nowhere.

  12. They have watered the streets,
    It shines like a diamond
    As you see your reflection,
    And you find your directions.
    Like a slow-moving river,
    Leading you to a place
    You have never seen before
    Between us
    I have trust.
    The city changes
    In a lot of places,
    All streets are full of light,
    And when you get to know more people they are more polite.

  13. My Dark

    Outside my home,
    close to where I live,
    The dark comes,
    I see the great lamp switch on
    followed by his friends
    scaring him away.
    The dark.
    I can bear the sight of him,
    I turn on my light
    That’s what I like.
    My type of dark.

  14. Phoebe

    It’s late
    Really late
    Too early for the sun
    The moon’s got the night shift
    Trudging along – suitcase rolling behind us.
    In the lift too tired to stand – even to make conversation.
    London’s trapped in darkness
    We get home
    Slouch on the sofa
    “I’m so tired I could have a holiday!”
    London’s trapped in darkness.

    1. Wonderful poem Phoebe. I really enjoyed it. Lovely use of repetition to open the poem. Some wonderful personification and the pace of your poem is very controlled. I”m sure Amy Lowell would have loved this.

  15. LONDON AT NIGHT

    Small crimes happened at night but also during the day.
    Night-walkers get drunk and get into fights.
    The drunk get mad and heart the homeless.
    Police drive around looking for the drunk.
    The same thing happens somewhere else.
    The police get send out again,looking for the man.
    Haven’t we noticed a pattern?
    The same thing happens every night.
    it happens again and again and again!

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