This Queen Anne was built long ago,
in a progressive age.
The man who built her passed away
before Hitler took the stage.
His aged granddaughter had it last.
until it was her time.
A conservator has sold the estate
to a builder with designs.
The house is a time capsule
of America before the Wars.
The craftsmanship exquisite;
You can’t find this anymore.
Generations lived and loved
within these sturdy walls.
But now this house is empty
and awaits the wrecking ball.
I’ve been asked by some historians
of our society in Queens.
To photograph this lovely home
before it passes from the scene.
They’ll build a row, with common brick,
of attached two families.
They’ll destroy this house without a trace
And cut down all the trees.
The plan is surely profitable
but, to my mind, obscene.
When we erase our treasured past,
Naught remains to call to mind
The greatness that we once possessed
and might reclaim in time.