Part 1 - Intrusion - (Et frangentes circa domos intrans)

Danger, do not enter, he takes a picture and clambers past
Rusty staircase holding tight to the hand-rail
Prises ajar the fire escape

Into the gloaming, rodents scuttle by unseen
Grey concrete corridor with some trepidation
The sound of water draws him deeper inside

Broken and gone, still holding on
But where’s the beauty that he came in here to find?

Bright colours faded, 30 years of neglect
Dust motes dancing in the shafts from high windows
Footfalls echo through the vast empty space

Urban explorer, camera in hand
enjoys the melancholy reminiscence
For a place he never knew

Those halcyon days left decades behind
calls from the past echo through the silence
He’s not chasing a thrill as much as a feeling

Broken and gone, still holding on
Somehow more beautiful than when it was alive
Broken and gone, still holding on
Somehow more beautiful than when it was alive

Broken and gone, still holding on
Somehow more beautiful than when it was alive
Broken and gone, still holding on


Part 2 - The Way We Were

Child of the 50s, indoor heated swimming pool
With green plastic foliage hanging from the roof
square viewing portals under the deep end
the view from the windows across the bay, the families came
“our true intent, for your delight”

But now you’re broken beyond repair
So long abandoned; must feel like no one cares
You’ve lost your hope, you’ve lost your friends

Now echoes of summers and children’s squeals
fill your memories, haunt your dreams
So passed the years of quiet neglect
Chains and padlocks your only friend today

Reborn in the 80s into the super-splash fun pool
curved edges and rapids and water jets
Glass-fibre formation of rocks round the jacuzzi
Your flume tower could be seen from five miles away in your heyday
Those spiralling tubes, red gold and blue

Seems like you’re broken beyond repair
so long abandoned, it must feel like no one cares
You’ve lost your hope, you’ve lost your friends

After a while the cracks showed through
There’s not much more that they could do
They closed your doors for the final time
Chains and padlocks your only friend today


(If you could peel away the new tiles and curved edges the original pool is still there underneath)




Part 3 - Reflections

Still full, green water, broken chairs and tables stare up from the oily depths
Algae, graffiti, an authentic testimonial to a bygone age

This building’s condemned because it’s an eyesore
but when I look inside that’s not what I saw
It’s beauty overwhelming, remnant of a grand design
A strange sense of excitement as I walked inside.

Footfalls drifting, cracked tiles shifting
Rafters rusting, foliage dangling
Windows smashed in, debris settling
paintwork peeling, dust motes dancing

Aquatic recreation; a monument in time
A strange sense of enlightenment as I walked inside.

Part 4 - The Best Is Yet To Come

You can’t be broken beyond repair (it’s never too late)
You can’t be broken beyond repair (why don’t you open your eyes)
You can’t be broken beyond repair (i know you didn’t mean it)
You can’t be broken beyond repair (love to everyone in creation)

You can’t be broken beyond repair (it’s never too late)
You made some bad choices but don’t despair
It’s never too late to start again (why don’t you open your eyes)

When we’ve been here 10,000 years bright shining as the sun
We’ve no fewer days to turn the page and be amazed than when we first began