Volume III, No. 3, Spring 1976

OUR ADAMS BUILDING

by Teresa Reed, Photography by Jimmy Harrelston

Steep stairways that dared
us to walk up them,
Dark halls that made
our eyes adjust to their liking,
High ceilings that caused
drafts and chills,

Heavy doors that demanded
our strength to open them,
It was a big nuisance,
Our Adams Building.

"Let's accidentally set a match to it,"
we said,
"And watch leaping flames devour
the dry wood
Until there is nothing left."
"Let's call a team to tear it down
And watch machines rip its wood apart."
"Let's hope for a windstorm to blow it
Into a million tiny pieces
never to be found."
It was a big nuisance,
Our Adams Building.

We wanted it down
We wanted a new school
We wanted a bond issue.
People climbed the steep steps once
to vote.
But they voted against the new,
for the old.
And it was still a nuisance,
Our Adams Building.

Finally the vote for the new passed.
We would get new
We would get modern.
The old school would go,
We would be rid of our nuisance,
Our Adams Building.

The machines came.
They ripped and tore,
They knocked and crashed,
They ate the wood and then
Our nuisance was gone,
Our Adams Building.

And now we cry...