19 oct. 2011

Ode to Ogilvy's, a forgotten derelict










There's a building    at the corner of Rideau and Nicholas streets
A building      forgotten for almost twenty years

Almost two decades of oblivion
Almost twenty years       ignored

And when you tell people about it
And when you mention it
    most people don't remember seeing it       this huge building on Rideau street
    most people have forgotten it     this beautiful building on Nicholas

And yet
over twenty years ago     it was called Ogilvy's
And yet
one hundred years ago    it was called Ogilvy's
    one of Ottawa's first department stores
famous for its Tartan boxes
and high-end products.

But today     it's empty
   abandoned       forgotten
        today
it's just another empty building
and no one knows what to do with it  
    with its Heritage designation
       with its beautiful architecture
              with its large store-front windows     -     blacked-out.

And now       it's sad               and lonely
     and ignored
like the many homeless vagrants       who surround it
            who walk by it every day
The ones we forget
The ones we've ignored
The ones who    slowly    disappear
Waiting for the ones in charge
   to do something
      to take charge
          to take a stand
And        meanwhile
this beautiful old building
    sits               and waits
and slowly fades away             in our memory
     and slowly loses its charm          in our eyes
and slowly becomes                another derelict
forgotten         ignored
                 lost
in this beautiful capital of ours.