We used to live in a terraced house
Nestled in neighbourly obscurity
But now, upon revisiting it has been cut apart
In the name of progress to make way
For a super school
or community empowering facility
or something
My mum and dad aspired to a semi detached
But not like this
The old wallpaper that I helped to paste
Hangs listless like an abandoned hoarding
The nicotine stains are surprisingly yellow
In natural light
The chimney breast hangs on like a cliff face
A floorboard sticks out like a fractured rib
The dismantled elements lie smouldering
In an undignified pile of debris
Which we were happy to call our life
When we used to live in a terraced house
