LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN
By Adebayo Ogunleye ~ The GreatQuill🖋️
The beautiful land has been disfigured
By wars and rivers of blood.
The ill-made roads have swallowed
Far too many innocent lives.
The fragile edifices erected by careless hands
Have become dens of death for many.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The land of honey now bleeds
Bleeds a bitter and pungent stream.
The throne of kingship has become
A do-or-die affair,
Subsidizing truth
With beautifully crafted lies.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The homely home is no longer home
For those who dwell within it.
Seeking refuge in the lands of distant demi-gods,
Its children willingly embrace
A twenty-first-century form of self-made slavery.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The kinsmen have drained their land dry,
Like the flattened breast
Of a weary old woman.
The milk-rich soil has been milked barren—
One fat man hoards overflowing jars,
While ten hungry souls
Share a single teaspoon.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The water of the well is enough
For every hand that helped dig it.
Yet a privileged few arrive with giant drums,
Drawing more than enough
For their tenth generation.
And for the multitude,
They leave only a sieve
With which to fetch their share.
Has our London Bridge not fallen?
! London Bridge is falling down
And it mourns for more than wood and stone.
It mourns for justice abandoned,
For truth betrayed,
For a people rich in promise
Yet poor in reward.
!! London Bridge is falling down,
And beneath its crumbling arches
Stand you and I,
Witnesses to its fall.
1d ago
Jun 3, 2026 at 6:53 PM UTC
LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN
By Adebayo Ogunleye ~ The GreatQuill🖋️
The beautiful land has been disfigured
By wars and rivers of blood.
The ill-made roads have swallowed
Far too many innocent lives.
The fragile edifices erected by careless hands
Have become dens of death for many.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The land of honey now bleeds
Bleeds a bitter and pungent stream.
The throne of kingship has become
A do-or-die affair,
Subsidizing truth
With beautifully crafted lies.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The homely home is no longer home
For those who dwell within it.
Seeking refuge in the lands of distant demi-gods,
Its children willingly embrace
A twenty-first-century form of self-made slavery.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The kinsmen have drained their land dry,
Like the flattened breast
Of a weary old woman.
The milk-rich soil has been milked barren—
One fat man hoards overflowing jars,
While ten hungry souls
Share a single teaspoon.
Is our London Bridge not falling down?
The water of the well is enough
For every hand that helped dig it.
Yet a privileged few arrive with giant drums,
Drawing more than enough
For their tenth generation.
And for the multitude,
They leave only a sieve
With which to fetch their share.
Has our London Bridge not fallen?
! London Bridge is falling down
And it mourns for more than wood and stone.
It mourns for justice abandoned,
For truth betrayed,
For a people rich in promise
Yet poor in reward.
!! London Bridge is falling down,
And beneath its crumbling arches
Stand you and I,
Witnesses to its fall.
lamentation poem about corruption, inequality, failed leadership, and societal decline with the subtle use of symbolism
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