Not For Sale

our parents dwelt amid shabby chicness

old Victorian elegance in Grantham Hall

its upper floor apartment spacious with tall

windows, eyes wide open on Wellswood below

a wrought iron staircase in need of a warm coat

to cover the emergence of rust patches

an annexe where Grandma's sixth sense

always meant she was the first to greet you

three decades gone, a for sale board on display

i took a virtual tour with the hope of recalling more

more memories, yet i barely recognise the inside

so upmarket this new look, so lavish, so not them

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

When we cherish somethings we inhabited or visited in the past, we feel the connection, the tug of memories, the urges to see the past. Sometimes they reinforce what we know, other times we find disappointment. WE want to preserve something that we hold dear but ever changing.
What a great write with so many touching memories.
Virtual tours might be this new technology, better or lesser that the real thing; I don't know.

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Sami. So good to have your thoughts on this write. I really appreciate your visit. All good wishes.

Chris

[Sami Khalil]

All good things. You are welcome....

[Dave]

Despite the new,we always,it seems are drawn to our past. Long ago left Atlantic City.. We lived in several different places there until I graduated college. I went back to each place. To find that so, so much has changed or disappeared altogether. Sometimes we can't go back, because back isn't there any mor.

Chris - take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

Not a good idea to go bavk Dave. Best left. Thank you for your kind review.

Chris

[Rye]

an annexe where Grandma's sixth sense
always meant she was the first to greet you

These lines here, reminds me of my grandma's 6th sense. Grandma's always know as well as mom's

[Chris Shaw]

Pleased these lines remind you of your Grandma, Rye. Thank you for your visit.

Chris

[Jimmy Yetts]

"Old" in my country wouldn't even merit a mention in Great Britain.
"Grantham Hall" sounds quite elegant and well outside my experience.
Very much enjoyed this stately poem!

[Chris Shaw]

Certainly an elegant building in need of a few repairs, but oh what rich feelings of love generated from within its walls. Thank you Jimmy.

Chris

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Chris... the nostalgia of our grandmother's home.
My Grandma fed the chickens and milked the cow every morning.
They lived in an old farmhouse where Grandpa had a smokehouse
and a Hog to feed. He plowed a garden and helped Can food.
Grandma churned her butter, baked her bread and made Preserves from her own Grapes. Those were the days. She wall-papered all three Bedrooms and
had Chenelle Bedspreads. I remember the Wringer Washer and hanging clothes outdoors. I still buy clothes-pins... but have no way of putting a
clothes line in the Yard. My story is not as Elegant as your Poem; however
the feelings are Sentimental to me. truly loved your Poem. Pat

[Chris Shaw]

Delighted Pat that my poem generated such wonderful memories of your Grandmother and how she lived her days. Thank you for sharing her with me. I felt great warmth in your response.

Chris

[R.J Calzonetti (Siniste..]

I feel like this is the darkest of the dark poems. Because it isn't meant to be depressing, it is simply an accurate description of your memories and how you feel about the changes. In a way, it's a lot darker than a poem written to be dark. It is a poem full of hope that is closer to sadness. The aspect of realism is truly appalling, that is why it is the most close we can be to the bottom. It is excellent in its own kind of beauty.

[Chris Shaw]

It is true, there was disappointment when I took that virtual tour. I was hoping to find comfort in a familiar place and I found none. Everything had changed beyond recognition. All trace of my loved ones had gone. Thank goodness for memories. I appreciate your visit. Nice to see you on my page.Many thank yous.

Chris

[Weeping willow]

Nice write, brings back memories of visiting old childhood places. Did that once, relived in an old apartment when I was young. Found it depressing, as it was the same as when I was a kid, had not changed much. Could not live there. Old memories belong in the past.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Weeping willow. Wise words, I don't think you should go back. It was a huge disappointment to me. Not a trace of my loved ones there. I appreciate your visit.

Chris

[Perdition]

Mr. Wolfe was right.we just" Can't go home again"...still you held these memories and shared them well..I can see the greeting and perhaps not just your grandmother's but pets as well and of course that familiar smell of either fresh paint or the paper bag for lunches or the house itself. I suppose it might have been different for you but for me I have memories of the wagons and the drives and the yards and smells of spring. Great place for a young mind and I'd hate to think of only seeing it virtually for the last time. Hope you went and took an actual tour as well. Enjoyed it Chris.Thank you!

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you for your visit and for sharing your memories. So different from mine. Wagons are certainly something I have never experienced. Wagons, drives, yards and smells of spring. Lovely, you transported me somewhere else entirely which made up for the disappointment of me trying to recapture times that had long gone. Shouldn't have gone back. Not a trace of my folks anywhere. I appreciate your visit and review.

Chris

[Perdition]

Not even station wagons?..Oh come on!!.Well we came from everywhere and Texas included so there were other wagons as well. Truly a pleasure Chris.

[Chris Shaw]

You take care now :))

[Lorry]

I had to read this twice, as I could imagine the pattern on the wallpaper, despite you not mentioning it. Then I realised I was thinking of my childhood home, with the third step after the landings creaky floorboard and space under the stairs that I was never told, but knew that's where the monsters hid in daylight.
What a shame you got to see the renovation, which will know doubt invade the real memories you have of that home.
I bet they had wooden blinds instead of blackout curtains too. Some people are just shameless 😀

[Chris Shaw]

You are right Lorry, I shouldn't have been tempted to take that virtual tour. It left me feeling really disappointed. I was hoping to find something, instead it emphasised that there wasn't a trace of my folks in that place. They had gone where I hoped they still lingered in spirit. Pleased I made you think of your childhood home, but not the monsters.

Chris

[Lorry]

Ach, they became my friends when I threw in the odd pack of pickled onion monster munch. They liked them alot 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

life as we knew it as kids....unrecognizable in general...
everything has been replaced, modernized...the life taken out of it.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

They say you shouldn't return because it will lead to disappointment. I understand that. Thank you Jacob.

Chris