Looking through my folder containing my old poems: Here's one I wrote around 1990. I think it's rather prophetic in its way.
Where did that building go?
You know the one I mean
It used to be a chip shop
Now it's nowhere to be seen
It just took off in the night
Disappeared to outer space
And a two-storey office block's
Been put there in it's place
And is it my imagination?
I really cannot say
If that car park standing opposite
Was there before today
It's so big and domineering
Cars are parked on every floor
And I wonder why I've never even noticed it before
Where did all the shops go?
You know the ones I mean
The Butchers and the Greengrocers
Are nowhere to be seen
And the Bakeries, the Market stalls,
The sweet shops, all have gone;
No Off-licence, no Tobacconist
There must be something wrong
The Cinema, The swimming pool
The cafe and the bar
The Bike shop and the Clothes shop
And the shop that sells guitars
And the record shop, The Furniture shop
All much to my dismay
Have packed their cases over-night
And simply moved away
Where did that precinct come from?
You know the one I mean
With its endless special offers
And its shops so new and clean
And that great big Supermarket
That wasn't there yesterday
And neither was that Jewelers
Or that Fast-food take-away
Strange new buildings everywhere
As if by magic they appear
And when I come back tomorrow I wonder,
Will they still be here?
Or will they, too, be replaced
By different buildings large and small
Knocked down without a trace
Like they were never there at all