old fashioned houses

old fashioned houses
and trees all around
no rumble of engines
a beautiful sound

i stand here in silence
my heart filled with joy
for i had not seen it
since i was a boy

most don't remember
it just slips away
but i can't forget where
i learned how to play

the summers in clover
that filled me with glee
the house that we built
in that old maple tree

the girls of my youth
they were gentle and kind
the peace of those days
is now hard to find

it don't seem to me
that we've made the world better
all mapped out and
planned to the letter

perhaps we'll remember
in time what we lost
what we tore down and changed
at a terrible cost

once life was free and
we all breathed clean air
nature was loved and
we knew how to pair

but that was another time