St James' Park

inside the city steam-
ribboned in back streets,
in cracked pavement tangles,
the slabstacks of palaces,
the echo of soldiers
in an anthem of stamping,
and the petrol throats:
of spilled traffic,
gargling monoxide-
sits the eye, the nirvana,
small circle of dignity,
spattered in blossom,
feathered bodies and birdsong.