Poetry Map of Scotland, poem no. 250: Grangemouth

The Metal Jungle

It was a dull, bleak day,

With the refinery hiding in the mist.

Lit up at night like fairyland-

Disneyland on Forth.

The burning waste gas, like a beacon,

Reflected in the low cloud base-

The sky was on fire.

Frozen vapour columns from cooling towers,

Hold up the winter sky.

Towers and pipes everywhere,

Like an upturned brush-

And the eeriness of an empty chemical plant at night.

William Ballantine

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