From Bairro Alto to Battersea

 

I. Ascensor da Glória (Lisbon, 2025)

At twilight the cable car climbs the steep stone hill,
but the wire betrays — Ai meu Deus! what terror spills.
It rushes downward like a beast unchained,
steel and screams collide, lives forever maimed.

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II. Battersea Park (London, 1972)

A holiday crowd, children laughing in delight,
the Big Dipper halts — then slips in fright.
The train crashes backward, wood and bodies torn,
Que horror! joy turned anguish, a nation mourns.

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III. Ascensor da Glória

A monument of Lisbon, proud and tall,
now etched with grief on the Bairro Alto wall.
Sixteen lives lost, so many wounded cry,
Meu Deus do Céu! flags at half-mast sigh.

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IV. Battersea Park

Five children silenced, their laughter gone,
justice falters — the trial drags on.
Negligence hidden, the guilty walk free,
Que injustiça! shouts history.

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V. Ascensor da Glória

Tourists and locals, strangers united in pain,
Lisbon’s cobbled streets remember the slain.
A day of mourning, Europe bows its head,
Santa Maria! prayers for the dead.

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VI. Battersea Park

The funfair closed, but memory stayed,
a cherry tree planted, a soft tribute laid.
Names whispered gently in the London breeze,
Lembrar é viver — remembrance is peace.