There were eight acres of private land
Where Brian played with David as a boy
Brian’s house backed onto the land
And he could access it by climbing over his garden fence
David was the son of the wealthy owners
And the land comprised stables, ponds, winding paths
Woodland, lawns, a house, outhouses and a noisy flock of
Chinese geese that acted as guard dogs against intruders
There was also Blaze an Alsatian dog
That barked at and chased strangers
Blaze was a constant companion to the boys
Brian was privileged to be allowed to play on the land
So frequent were the hours spent there that the now elderly Brian
Could recall in his mind’s eye
Every detail of the estate and could still
Roam around it in his imagination
After ten years the estate was sold to private developers
Who built over forty high-end detached houses on the land
The houses were not numbered but given names
Such as Rose Cottage, The Coach House and Sunny Bank
After a lapse of sixty years, Brian who had long since moved away
Went back to visit the new housing estate
He wandered around the new access roads
And peered over garden walls and picket fences
For every location he could remember what had been there before
In the garden of Rose Cottage
Had once been a chestnut tree
Where he gathered conkers in the Autumn
Where Sunny Bank now stood had been the goose pond
Where the boys had sailed their model yachts
At the Coach House stood the old stables
Where the family had garaged their vintage Bentley
David and his family had now passed away
So, there was no one left except Brian who could recall
In detail the features of the old estate
Which still lingered so vividly in his memory
In the centuries to come the new housing estate
Would in turn, complete its useful life span
And the land repurposed
Perhaps for industry, housing or farmland
The elderly who remained, remembering in turn
How it used to be where Rose Cottage
The Coach House
And Sunny Bank once stood
Ad infinitum