The retail street scene.  Written to go with a collection of over 50 images. 2007

.

Shopping
To see and be seen
Shopping
A way to spend leisure,
A way to spend.
Wander alone.

Meet friends.
Seek inspiration, excitement, Mystery.

Shopping
The new religion
The malls
Cathedrals to consumerism
The streets
The place to be

Shopping has become
Our passion,
A time to dream as we wander.
The shop window
The lure, the sanctuary-stage
Projecting fantasies for sale.

Shimmering glass protects
the “valued goods”.
“Look! You cannot touch.
For that you must
come on inside.”

Shimmering glass reflects
So what we see is not
Just the contents
but what confronts it,
passing by.

Inhabited by mannequins,
Aloof, androgynous, alien,
Outrageous or seductive,
They pose motionless

Caught in some high drama
Before the moving throng.
Haughtily they project
The latest look
The aspirations.

Seduction, sex, status,
And the key
To enter any group
We most admire,
Giving us a faux passport to

Recognition and Success –
Provided that
We buy.

To see many more of the images shown larger visit my Images web site www.getshot.co.uk