I thought it would last my time –
The sense that, beyond the town,
There would always be fields and farms,
Where the village louts could climb
Such trees as were not cut down;
I knew there\u2019d be false alarms<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the papers about old streets
And split level shopping, but some
Have always been left so far;
And when the old part retreats
As the bleak high-risers come
We can always escape in the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things are tougher than we are, just
As earth will always respond
However we mess it about;
Chuck filth in the sea, if you must:
The tides will be clean beyond.
– But what do I feel now? Doubt?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or age, simply? The crowd
Is young in the M1 cafe;
Their kids are screaming for more –
More houses, more parking allowed,
More caravan sites, more pay.
On the Business Page, a score<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of spectacled grins approve
Some takeover bid that entails
Five per cent profit (and ten
Per cent more in the estuaries): move
Your works to the unspoilt dales
(Grey area grants)! And when<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You try to get near the sea
In summer …
It seems, just now,
To be happening so very fast;
Despite all the land left free
For the first time I feel somehow
That it isn\u2019t going to last,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That before I snuff it, the whole
Boiling will be bricked in
Except for the tourist parts –
First slum of Europe: a role
It won\u2019t be hard to win,
With a cast of crooks and tarts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that will be England gone,
The shadows, the meadows, the lanes,
The guildhalls, the carved choirs.
There\u2019ll be books; it will linger on
In galleries; but all that remains
For us will be concrete and tyres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most things are never meant.
This won\u2019t be, most likely; but greeds
And garbage are too thick-strewn
To be swept up now, or invent
Excuses that make them all needs.
I just think it will happen, soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I thought it would last my time –The sense that, beyond the town,There would always be fields and farms,Where the village louts could climbSuch trees as were not cut down;I knew there\u2019d be false alarms In the papers about old streetsAnd split level shopping, but someHave always been left so far;And when the old part…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t