names you know
names you can list
rammed with people
pouring off pavements and onto the streets
people of every hue
tongue religion and creed
as if...
as if the whole world were here
just to see the sights
to pay to jump on a bus
to stroll around and gawp
to gawp at the bricks and mortar
at the sights of historical significance
to know about the events and happenings of years gone by
to hear about the people of significance
the people who invented and created
painted, wrote, built
to see which house they used to live in
to identify just who it is
remembered on which plinth
or obelisk
or grand archway
or blue plaque fixed by some grand doorway
all the things that happened here
listed for us
like a city's CV
"Edinburgh is a good team player and is iT literate"
all those shops selling endless tat
all aimed at tourists
claiming to be more Scottish than Scotland itself
things they never knew they needed
things to stuff in their suitcases and try to get through customs
caps to keep the sun off their heads
and any number of variations of fridge-magnets to stick on fridges all over the world
they stand on street corners with cameras as big as your arm and snap away
holding mobile phones
either in their hands or on "selfie-sticks"
images then sent instantly around the globe
and then
when the sun goes down
the crowds thin a little
all heading inside into restaurants and bars
or onto one of the specialized night-time tours
ghost tours
comedy ghost tours
haunted history tours
by foot or on ghostly painted buses
they wring out every drop of the city
they visit everything they've been told they must visit
...and then
like the wilderbeast on the plains...
they move on
