Is this the ugliest station platform
In the whole of Britain?
I’m certainly not smitten by it
Thanet Parkway
A wonder some station platform maker
Got away with making this without a care for
The aesthetic bliss of us poor travellers
What lies beyond a barrier so grim
That it must be screened off
Must not be seen?
Is Cliffsend such an unlovely place
A view of the Wantsum river
Giver of water to brew the beer made here
But all we get instead of a whistle wet
Is a grim stark straight endless wall
I’m less than enthralled by it
This Isle of Thanet
Where Ian met Janet later to capture
Deserves better
This landing place of Hengist and Horsa
This Viking coastline
These white cliffs
These lovely rolling Kentish downs
This garden of England
This blessed place
Oh path of pilgrims
Trod for centuries by those
On a mission to behold bones
Of a martyred priest
Another follows to bear witness
And to mount her golden throne
Bearing her shepherd’s staff
To guide her wayward flock
What a mockery of
This county
Of Kent
Is Thanet Parkway
O ~ o ~
Do you know an uglier station or station platform? Please let me know in comments. Why not post a picture of it (credited please if not your own) with an ode, ditty, or other words to express how it makes you feel. I will send a little $5 tip for the best or only offering.
About the Creator
Raymond G. Taylor
Author living in Kent, England. Writer of short stories and poems in a wide range of genres, forms and styles. A non-fiction writer for 40+ years. Subjects include art, history, science, business, law, and the human condition.
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Comments (4)
That is one ugly station... But great words.
Lovely way to start the day... I look at these places as contrast, knowing the next time I am blessed to see a beautiful view, I will appreciate it that much more.
There is a new one between Berwick and Edinburgh , Reston which is pretty nondescript https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston_railway_station
I'd think this wall is for safety and access rather than to hide something. But who knows, perhaps there's an ugly landfill they are trying to hide there. I'd seen a lot of ugly stations in Russia when I worked as a train conductor in mid 1990s but I don't have any pictures of them, unfortunately. I'd hope that they've been improved since then.