Poetry – anyone?

[The Statman]

I was just clearing out some old files on my pc, and I came across this. It is a poem I wrote about 5 years ago listing all the London tube stations. It runs to 57 verses and these are the first few.

Anyone else like poetising?

TUBE STATIONS

London is so colourful –
It’s certainly no pity
To find Blackfriars or Golders Green,
Redbridge, Green Park, White City.

There’s Liverpool Street, Leicester Square,
And other towns on view:
With Oxford Circus, Gloucester Road
And Warwick Avenue.

Plus Newbury Park, Lancaster Gate,
Great Portland Street and look:
There’s Boston Manor, Preston Road,
And even Stamford Brook.

There are two English counties where
The underground train stops:
Kentish Town and Surrey Quays
(Formerly Surrey Docks).

Do you yearn for foreign lands?
These two might hit the mark:
Perhaps you fancy Canada Water,
Or maybe Holland Park.

Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3’s
The place to catch the plane;
And though it sounds quite promising
There’s none at Hanger Lane.

In Colindale, Rickmansworth, Russell Square,
And Kenton men are seen,
Plus Stanmore; ladies Marylebone,
Victoria, Bethnal Green.

And if you should possess a title,
Then of you we have thought:
We’ve Kingsbury, Queensbury, Knightsbridge, even
Earl’s and Barons Court.

It’s possible your occupation’s
Mentioned, at a push:
With Colliers Wood and Baker Street
And well-known Shepherd’s Bush.

For religious folk there’s Whitechapel,
St Paul’s and St John’s Wood.
Plus Parsons Green and Canons Park; does
Angel delight? It should!

Two Crosses more than Calvary,
Though it is my intent
To name one later; four are Hatton,
Charing, New and Brent.

To New Cross you could add on Gate;
Another few at least
Are Notting Hill Gate, Southgate, Moorgate,
Aldgate, Aldgate East.

Barking mad on animals?
They all come part and parcel,
With Buckhurst Hill and Blackhorse Road
And Elephant & Castle.

Of course, your new menagerie
Will need a place to roam –
I think I have the perfect place:
It’s Chalk Farm they’ll call home.

There’s Ravenscourt Park, Goldhawk Road;
And other birds fly forth:
Four Finchleys – Central, West, East, Road –
Cockfosters, Canary Wharf.

If you find beauty more in trees
Neglecting you they weren’t
When they conjured up Elm Park,
And two Oaks – Royal and Burnt.

The complete version is available on request.

[dannyd0g]

Clever stuff mr Statman.

I believe Elvaago is another talented resident poet if you looking for someone else to poetise with.

I would like to see the rest of the poem please if you would like to post it.

[hegeland]

You wrote all this? Well done!

[PaulTheSoave]

Unfortunately there is no tube anywhere near Elvaago is living!

[Skypigeon]

wow Statters...amazing as always!

[Valderie]

Wow Statman - is there no end to your talents!

[mcmanusrules]

I have written a fair few poems, but I mainly write songs, and there is no wya I'm posting them here.

[PaulTheSoave]

I am disappointed there is no snooker link to it. should have mentioned at least one of the wembley tube stations.

[kellie-text]

I used to write poems in the letters page of the old Pot Black magazine in the mid-90's.

Many a happy school lesson was spent writing about snooker.... my class mates thought i was crackers!

[The Statman]

Well here it is in full; it will be an exceedingly long post – even by my standards!

It is based on atlases published in 1999 when there were 270 stations (including the Jubilee line extension which was then under construction). I believe Stratford station is no longer open (Docklands Railway now, rather then Underground) and others may have opened.

TUBE STATIONS

London is so colourful –
It’s certainly no pity
To find Blackfriars or Golders Green,
Redbridge, Green Park, White City.

There’s Liverpool Street, Leicester Square,
And other towns on view:
With Oxford Circus, Gloucester Road
And Warwick Avenue.

Plus Newbury Park, Lancaster Gate,
Great Portland Street and look:
There’s Boston Manor, Preston Road,
And even Stamford Brook.

There are two English counties where
The underground train stops:
Kentish Town and Surrey Quays
(Formerly Surrey Docks).

Do you yearn for foreign lands?
These two might hit the mark:
Perhaps you fancy Canada Water,
Or maybe Holland Park.

Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3’s
The place to catch the plane;
And though it sounds quite promising
There’s none at Hanger Lane.

In Colindale, Rickmansworth, Russell Square,
And Kenton men are seen,
Plus Stanmore; ladies Marylebone,
Victoria, Bethnal Green.

And if you should possess a title,
Then of you we have thought:
We’ve Kingsbury, Queensbury, Knightsbridge, even
Earl’s and Barons Court.

It’s possible your occupation’s
Mentioned, at a push:
With Colliers Wood and Baker Street
And well-known Shepherd’s Bush.

For religious folk there’s Whitechapel,
St Paul’s and St John’s Wood.
Plus Parsons Green and Canons Park; does
Angel delight? It should!

Two Crosses more than Calvary,
Though it is my intent
To name one later; four are Hatton,
Charing, New and Brent.

To New Cross you could add on Gate;
Another few at least
Are Notting Hill Gate, Southgate, Moorgate,
Aldgate, Aldgate East.

Barking mad on animals?
They all come part and parcel,
With Buckhurst Hill and Blackhorse Road
And Elephant & Castle.

Of course, your new menagerie
Will need a place to roam –
I think I have the perfect place:
It’s Chalk Farm they’ll call home.

There’s Ravenscourt Park, Goldhawk Road;
And other birds fly forth:
Four Finchleys – Central, West, East, Road –
Cockfosters, Canary Wharf.

If you find beauty more in trees
Neglecting you they weren’t
When they conjured up Elm Park,
And two Oaks – Royal and Burnt.

You might find an estate agent
And in its window browse;
Maybe you’ll buy a special home:
Swiss Cottage, Mansion House.

Or lesser buildings also found
In towns of lower rank,
Like Archway, Temple, Monument,
Manor House and Bank.

You may wish to meet Paddington
If young at heart you’re still,
Or if more liveliness is sought
There’s always that Grange Hill.

If you’re into battles there
Was one at Waterloo;
We’ve Gunnersbury and Arsenal
And Cannon Street for you.

Not only trains – a car, though to
Just one it does amount:
Vauxhall is the one I mean
(GreenFord can’t really count).

Mathematicians like the Circle Line
With its geometric name,
And even there – in Euston, Sloane –
Two Squares it does contain.

Perhaps you’re feeling hungry and
You need to stop for dinner;
I’m sure you’ll find a good café
In somewhere nice like Pinner.

And then, to burn the calories,
A walk would be a thrill:
Will you reach the heights of nearby
Harrow-on-the-Hill?

To one of Seven Sisters you
Could offer your betrothal,
Or perhaps you’d rather just relax –
Watch cricket at the Oval?

Maybe football’s more your game,
In which case it’s essential
To transfer to the Bakerloo
And visit Wembley Central.

I’m sorry! Should be Wembley Park
(Excuse my brain’s malfunction) –
If it isn’t now too late
Please change at Willesden Junction.

A place to practise football? You’ll
Find one of these appealing:
Ruislip Gardens or Commons two –
Clapham, also Ealing.

Or Willesden, Stepney, Turnham, Kensal,
Bounds and Wood – they’re Greens;
A Park like Regent’s, Westbourne, Woodside,
Northwick, Tufnell, Queen’s...

St James’s, Upton, Stonebridge, Chiswick,
To name another four,
Kilburn, Finsbury, Wimbledon,
Belsize and just one Moor.

Do you loathe huge, Wapping names?
Then you’ll think me cantankerous
When I say Totteridge & Whetstone
Or Kings Cross St Pancras.

The Central Line’s a mammoth one,
For no line runs for longer:
From West Ruislip to Epping (and
It used to go to Ongar).

Compass points are shown so you’ll not
Get lost, feeling trembly:
Mill Hill East, South Wimbledon,
West Brompton and North Wembley.

Hendon Central; Hounslow Central,
West, East; not to mention
North, South Ealing; East, West Ham;
And of course South Kenton.

Dagenham East and Lambeth North,
And, it just so happens,
There’s West, East and North Acton, and –
With North and South – two Claphams.

North, South and West Harrow; with
The compass we can finish:
South Ruislip, East Putney and,
The very last, North Greenwich.

Wherever it goes, the next train you
Could board if tired of waiting.
Perhaps you’ll get to Arnos Grove;
Perhaps you’ll get to Leyton.

But make sure that you don’t doze off
And miss the required stop:
You might end up in Oakwood, Hainault,
Debden or Fairlop.

Warren, Old, Bond, Goodge are Streets
Plus High Street Kensington.
Other Highs are Barnet, -gate,
-bury & Islington.

While on a high, four Hills are Dollis,
Gants, Tower, Sudbury.
A few more Lanes are Turnpike, Rayners,
Also Chancery.

Holloway, Edgware, Latimer
Are names of the same sort:
These end in Road like Caledonian,
Bow and Tottenham Court.

There’s Loughton, Essex, Watford, Herts., and
Amersham in Bucks.
The Bridges include Upminster,
Putney, London, Ux-.

The Towns are Sudbury, Acton, Canning;
And Camden rings a bell.
There’s plain Northwood and Northwood Hills;
Shad-, Stock-, Chig- are -well.

I’ve mentioned names with suffixes
Which alone are also there:
Kilburn, Ruislip, Wimbledon,
Euston and Edgware.

The remainder hardly fit at all
(Those you’ve seen were simpler) –
What rhymes with Piccadilly Circus
Or Kensington (Olympia)?

I think I will just list the rest,
Though boring it will be.
So, Holborn, Hornchurch, Hyde Park Corner,
Northolt, Bermondsey.

Tooting Bec and Roding Valley,
Peri- and Maida Vale.
Balham, Chesham, Harlesden, Neasden,
Morden, Tottenham Hale.

We’ve Northfields, Southfields, Hammersmith,
Plaistow, Walthamstow
Central, Upminster, Westminster,
Brixton, Bromley-by-Bow.

Hillingdon and Kennington and
Farringdon are present,
Plus South and West Kensington
And Mornington Crescent.

Leytonstone and Chorleywood,
Richmond, Osterley,
Ladbroke Grove and Pimlico,
Croxley, Becontree.

There’s Stratford, Woodford (plain and South),
Shoreditch, Ickenham.
Three Broadways: Ealing, Fulham, Tooting;
The Heathway’s Dagenham.

Southwark, Shoreditch, Embankment,
Harrow & Wealdstone,
Queensway, Wanstead, West Hampstead,
And Hampstead on its own.

Garden(s) Kew and Covent, one is
With the ‘s’, one not;
Park Royal, Chalfont & Latimer,
Snaresbrook and Eastcote.

There’s Barbican and Bayswater,
Borough, Barkingside;
Marble Arch and Mile End, Ruislip
Manor, Rotherhithe.

There we are! I have made room
For all the many twopenny-
Ha’penny stations like Theydon Bois,
Alperton and Upney.

This poem’s nearly finished now, as
There is just one more:
What better place from which to leave
Than Heathrow Terminal 4?

©hris Downer, 03-02-01

[Semih_Sayginer]

wow

i need a shave after reading all that....

















very good statsy.

[PaulTheSoave]

Ah Well, all 3 wembley stations in it! Before or after my comment?

And another snooker related one, Barbican!

[austrian_girl]

Statman, this is brilliant!!! Crazy but brilliant!!!

Excellent work!

[hegeland]

I am lost for words.

[davis_greatest]

.... I believe Stratford station is no longer open (Docklands Railway now, rather then Underground)

Excellent poem, The Statman.

Incidentally, Stratford station is still open - on the Central and Jubilee lines (as well as DLR).