SONNET XVII, THE ASSENT SONNET SEQUENCE: ‘THE VAST ELECTRIC CITY NEVER SLEEPS’

The vast electric city never sleeps,
Her wires are full of chattering and sighs,
Her multicoloured jewels are lights she weeps
Like tears all night, until dawn fills the skies,
We are her children and her symbiotes
Who serve her in our millions till we die,
Small busy teeming worker-ants and motes
Of brilliant fire that murmur quickly by;
We are as numerous as heaven's stars
Set in an earthly, concrete firmament,
A neon rainbow grid of shops and bars
Where lives and deaths and loves and hates are spent,
A paradise of business that's hell
Unless you will be there for me as well.

From 'The Assent', a sonnet sequence by R.C.Appleton available on https://www.lulu.com/shop/rosemary-appleton/the-assent/hardcover/product-1rmdq8j.html?q=The+Assent&page=1&pageSize=4