faces fall into collars
heavy with sallow
cast ill-at-ease under
gaunt lamplighter globes
indistinct luminescence
in moist opaque fog

shadows throw their
flat mysteries splashed
across pavements then
climb up bricklaid grimy
walls to a tallness both
eerie and handsome

while brass buckles glint
from highwaymen’s boots
making dull wood-heeled
cobblestone clicks in
their escort of whispering
crinoline bustles

here in bleak alleyway
gridworks died centuries
swallowed by darkness
till Pall Mall was gasified
bringing its secrets to light
and consignment to flames

(originally posted October 2013)