Aug 8, 2014

Freedom Tower


O, to see my city like a mall gone mad
Macy’s with no marble
And full of flat screens
The Museum Store
With its reproductions of Etruscan treasure
Replaced
Displaced
By Starbucks

“The Cellar” looking like just any other floor
Where once I went to work out
Lifting the lids of Le Creuset skillets because I couldn’t afford a gym
I am a visitor in my own home
Standing in my old backyard
Where even the grass has changed

The city streets seem the same but not at all
Hang on, you t-shirt shops
Hang on, you grey market electronics merchants
And counterfeit luggage dealers
Sellers of souvenirs and genuine Brazilian hair

Sadly, you are all that familiar remains
But sadder yet
Sadder still
Saddest of all
Is a brand new building
Tall, beautiful and bright

But like no building ever before--lonely

1 comment:

jim gillen said...

Oh my gosh how poignant! From an Irish expat fan of Hugh Hewitt and Tarzana Joe!