SOCIAL CHANGES

When gentrification comes
The crack houses become condos
The burnt out buildings now are renovated
with sliding glass windows
and of course the poor have to go
3 families get packed into a studio
when that city wind blows
Gentrification in
bodegas gets replaced by pricey café’s
loud weekend parties get moved away
the color of pedestrians changes
like traffic lights from black and Latino to white
Gentrification strikes leaves minorities
homeless with court eviction fights
when rents go up to sky heights
Slenderized joggers replace baby carriage
pushing mama’s baseball caps and baggy jeans
get replaced by suits and ties and reconstruction teams
The hood gets changed like a radio station
The poor move to a shelter location
Everyone thinks this is progress as
These Harlem slums are slowly repossessed
By wealthy interests and of course
The neighborhood name must be changed
Central Park North is no longer the same
As venture capitalists entrench their chains
Only the poor complain
Gentrification is a steam rolling train.