Walking and Writing It Down

Just taking notes as I walk for the perhaps of a poem later. Fun to share real time first drafts. Walking from out of town to into town Passed a churchyard with no church Only steps remain where worship was But the grave stones mostly stand Looking old but new With the wishes of the grief stricken Still legible and true But all those who remember surely gone The plots long since passed their 100 year lease But presumably convenience keeps them in place To stop a derelict site becoming occupied by the living Empty car show rooms, empty warehouses I should probably stick to safer streets But this is fascinating Thistles as high as my waist At the side of the path to the right Thunderous traffic to the left Three metre wide safe passage for me As long as I trot on past a giant puddle Rows and rows of car park spaces Easily accessible but fined if you do Coatings on the windows To keep the sun out Of the now vacant rooms For a site that was probably always unsuitable The salvation army building small but pristine Probably turning people away due to lack of space when surrounded by empty offices The underpass tagged and illegible By the living Except for the words 'we can try' Sirens screech by Men work on foundations and skyscrapers across the road Over the bridge of dirty water I walk Seeing evidence of new life Whilst the old rots in place Heading to the shiny section of town To the top of a sky scraper I'll walk back in company I expect Down the parallel street Edit: just researched the church which originally had wealthy parishioners and several people of historical interest are buried there, meaning I could find their photos and bios. Including knighted physicians, barons and chemists who made important discoveries. The area became deprived as rich people moved away from the centres and following that slum clearances meant the area no longer had enough surrounding residences. The church originally had space for 1700 people and was a Grecian building. It was demolished in 1964 and rebuilt but the new church lasted only a short time. There are personal accounts from those that grew up on the impoverished streets about how they played hide and seek amongst the grave stones as the church at one point was at the end of a residential street. The vault contained the remains of a renowned family who owned significant parts of the area and had political and religious significance. I've also just found a list of who is in every grave, including ages :'(