A Harrowing tale.
by cricketjeff on May 26, 2009. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
On the Northwest edge of London, there’s a church high on a hill;
Makes for energetic walking if you’ve got an hour to kill.
There are woods and there’s a deer-park, loads of houses, also shops,
Buses go in all directions, there are queues at all the stops.
We have tubes and other railways, off to town or far away,
Fifteen minutes into London if there’s not a long delay.
I’ve a semi with a garden, and a garage and a pond,
There’s a shed right at the bottom and allotments lie beyond.
We have trees and loads of flowers, and we grow a lot of fruit;
Lots of sparrows being cheeky and the blue tits looking cute,
Though the house heeds decorating, and the roof a few repairs
It’s a handy little nest-egg for our brood of waiting heirs.
Every day off to the station, for a quarter-hour ride,
Lost in music on my headphones as I do my best to hide
From the others in the carriage who are doing much the same;
For avoiding other workers is the English national game.
I like walking in my lunch hour and the towpath’s rather nice
Or a park where boys with footballs never need inviting twice.
Sitting down to eat some dinner means a chance to dream of you
Bacon sandwich in the sunshine is the proper thing to do.
If the evening is a good one I’ll walk home through parks with trees,
Or I’ll find another bus-route and get whisked along with ease,
Stopping off to get some shopping we’ll be sure to need some milk,
Maybe chat with my newsagent or some other of his ilk.
Then it isn’t that much further ’til I’m home and drinking tea
And the prospect of an evening sitting writing poetry.
There are blackbirds singing lovesongs and the baby next-door cries,
Which is surely not the reason that the Moon begins to rise.
On the Northwest edge of London on a plain suburban street
Is the house where I am sitting and my supper’s here to eat!
Author notes
In the UK a semi is a semi-detached house these are the most common form of
housing in suburbia here.
A newsagent is a shop-keeper selling newspapers and magazines, and almost
always cigarettes, sweets (candy), birthday cards etc.
English