In The Wake of a Cultural Giant

 In the Wake of a Cultural Giant

 

Often,

I would sit on the cobble stone retaining wall

at lookout point at Thatcher State Park in the Helderberg Mountains

and stare at the ivory towers of the Empire State Plaza Complex

marble masterpiece employing the working class citizens.

 

The renaissance and renovation of Albany, New York

was magnificent to live and grow through.

The cockroach filled tenements and slum housing restored

to earth tone colored Historic Brownstones, each bearing

a dated black oval raised gold letter plaque.

Solid upper middle class citizens live there now.

 

Often,

as I would sit on the cobblestone rock retaining wall

at Lookout Point in the Helderberg Mountains

I pondered,

Where have all the poor people gone

in the Wake of a Cultural Giant?