Razing My Spirits

Five brownstones lined up on the corner Have been there a hundred plus years Until demolition equipment Knocked them down, once they got the “all clears.” The tenants had somehow departed, Perhaps with a buyout of cash. I wonder if they were there watching The bulldozers hammer and smash. The neighborhood’s losing its status And certainly lots of its charm. Replacing those brownstones with towers Is surely a cause for alarm. We’re squandering history’s treasures And also big chunks of the sky, For greedy developers hover And space is in dwindling supply. I mourn all the relics we’re missing For with every toppling of bricks, The city succumbs to the sameness Of others, just part of the mix.