Penge: A Poem by Matthew Ker

One of our Facebook group members has written a poem about the area and we loved it so much we wanted to share it with the world.

PENGE by Matthew Ker

In the shadow of history’s palace
Near the memory of where glass melted hot
Down the road from Jurassic footprints
There’s a name that the palace forgot

Some have called it ‘the head of the forest’
And others, ‘the edge of the woods’
Where the lane meets the crooked old billet
And a hundred old taverns once stood

Out of kindness the men of the water
For the poor, built their shelter in stone
Now they’re snapped up, their legacy bought out
By the rich, who’ll leave ghosts of their own

In these almshouses, chapels and vape shops
And the inns built on Victorian thrills
Under treetops, transmitters and train stops
There’s a heartbeat this side of the hill

Children with handheld computers
Taking selfies with walls made of art
While cottages wait for commuters
Still and patient, ’til skies become dark

This is home to the rough and the ready
To the weary, the weird and the wise
A refuge away from the City
Where a stranger’s a friend in disguise

There is more to these streets than suburbia
All is stubborn and wondrous and strange
Here is

Proudly
Eclectically
Neighbourly,
Gloriously
Eccentric

PENGE, never change.

@Matthew Ker 2018.

Matthew is a songwriter/producer. You can find out more about his work and hear samples here