Share

Steeple Town Minus One

Knocking the Spire Off St. Francis

By: - May 19, 2016

Steeple Town Minus One

This is the church
This is the steeple
Open the door
See all the people
Children's hand game

Once booming
North Adams
Rich on
King Cotton
Mills spinning
From thread to cloth
Arnold Print Works
Vast campus
Once Sprague Electric
Now MASS MoCA
They worshiped
Shades of faith
French, Irish, Polish
Churches for each
Catholic and Protestant
Steeples dominating
City skyline
Fallen on hard times
Jobs long gone
Some shuttered
Converted to
Museums others
Simply vacant
Pious logos
Steeplecats
Local ball team
Restaurant and realty
Proud of its spires
Now one less
Hundred-year-old
St. Francis of Assisi
Safety hazard
Keeping the bells
For whom
Will they toll
Calling faithful
To worship change