I am not the first person to dislike London. 
Frankly, any Londoner who gets the tube on the daily 
Must think much worse of the city. 
Jumbling cursives in their head of about the person next to them 
Who once again lacks general hygiene, 
An unfortunately recurring theme in the realms of public transport, 
Especially in the big city. 
I recognise that I am nowhere near the first person 
to hold disdain towards the large concrete jungle. 
Nor am I the first person to mildly enjoy it, 
I am definitely not the first to fall in love with it. 

A quiet, mid-afternoon commute leaves me calmly scrambling towards 
The underground at Waterloo. 
A quick 10-minute ride to London Bridge, 
Followed by a short walk, 
And there I am, 
Situated south of the river 
In recently-gentrified Bermondsey. 
Tennis courts to your right, 
White men in spectacles reading short novels in the park to your left. 
Artisan shops and pizza houses sprinkled here and there, 
The walk is in fact an enjoyable one. 
It feels quaint, 
An effect that people pay handsomely for in the big city. 
Interesting how people who live somewhere big are always searching for somewhere 
That feels small. 
Like the human mind needs a sanctuary from the bright lights and grotesque buildings. 
I arrive at my friends. 
Well, not quite arrive as I signal up that I’m here. 
Within a minute I have gone from scurrying the concrete streets to floating up amongst the clouds. 
A slight exaggeration, yet it is easy to feel such a way. 

Pleasantries aside, 
I head towards his balcony. 
A view of London that not many people are lucky enough to see. 
High up, you feel amongst the buildings. 
They no longer seem so daunting, 
The playing field has been levelled. 
Whilst you’re not a twenty thousand tonne combination of glass and concrete 
You’re not far off. 
The Shard sits about a kilometre down the road, 
Tower bridge off to your right 
And London Eye twirls in front of you. 
A set of symbols, recognised around the globe, 
Are now your playground. 
What’s stopping you from moving the Gherkin south of the river? 
Sure, it’d confuse the hell out of people 
But they’d surely move on, 
The maps would get updated, 
People at google would sort it out in a heartbeat, 
Perhaps the old paper tourist maps would suffer but 
A bit of change was due. 
What’s the fun in a city that never changes? 
It’s easy to enjoy London from a spacious balcony with a nice view. 
You don’t have to worry about rent prices, 
People don’t whizz by you at double the speed, 
You can’t hear the screeching of old tube lines, 
You don’t see men in suits on their way to client meetings, 
You pay attention to it all or nothing at all. 
The choice is yours. 
I like London these days. 
I like how warm it is. 
I like how pretty is. 
I like how calm it is. 
That is London, right?