Fair Maid of Perth

Fair city of Perth shines brightly

Summer light sparkles on the Tay

Streets throng with foreign blood

The city wakes to another day

And I see her as she rises

Bold ducks and graceful swans

Bob in time for scraps and crumbs

On the bubbling ebb and flow

Of the rivers twists and turns

And I see her as she waits

Bridges on the north and south

Bring needed trade on foot and wheel

Lifeblood renewed in the city fair

Perth rises with freshened zeal

And I see her as she breathes

Searching freedom in the purist air

I watch as the new dawn breaks

Sat on my bench by the river

Staring hard as the world awakes

I see her as she starts her day

Sitting here watching the world

I see her

All the times I've sat on this bench

I realise

She’s always been there

In the corner of my eye

Each and every day

Ever present

Hair tumbling like the river

Across her shoulders

And down her back

Eyes tired and forlorn

Reflecting her life story

Seeing but forever unseen

And I realise

She’s always been there

Ignored, unloved

Forgotten

Invisible

© Fergus Martin

2013