Sympathetic'ly renewed

The staircase has been turned about
That archway was a wall, before
the front room and the parlour joined
in one unbroken stretch of floor
The kitchen's twice the size it was
The outside loo and coal shed gone
The pantry's now a cosy nook
with comfy chairs to sit upon

The upstairs has extended too
A bathroom has been fitted. There's
a bath and shower, bidet, loo
and cupboard underneath the stairs
For there's another staircase that
leads up into the attic space
that now serves as a little flat
for son who can't get his own place

Yet from the outside nothing's changed
My childhood home looks just the same
From brown front door to grey backyard
They've even kept the same old name
4, Beehive Cottage it was called
Which sounds so rural, even twee
But, built between two busy roads
it is no haven for a bee

So when I saw it up for sale
I had to take a little look
as sympathetic'ly renewed
was written in the agent's book
But Sympathetic'ly My Arse!
They'd torn its heart and soul apart
and turned it into just the same
as any modern builders 'Art'

So while an outside loo's no pleasure
I'll mourn the passing of this treasure