We moved down to Woo-ster,
My partner and I,
Along with our canine
Who stands three feet high.
We came from the North coast,
The land known as Maine.
A place that is peaceful
And quiet
And sane.
We came on account
Of a job that I got,
An offer so good
I’d said “Yes!” on the spot.
We packed up our life
Of ten years in one place.
So many boxes
For such a small space.
We loaded the U-Haul,
Not one inch to spare,
And drove 95 South
Not fully aware
Of everything different
That soon we would find,
Of everything known
That we’d just left behind.
The whole year was ending,
Not only the night,
As we finally lugged
The last crate up the flight.
We fell in the bed
And slept until dawn,
Rising to greet
The New Year head-on.
We settled in quickly,
In relative speak,
I assumed my new post
At the start of the week.
The morning drive in
Brought with it the first
Encounter with others
I swore left me cursed.
For those early days
My daily commutes
Were full of confusion
And numerous routes.
I got lost in the rotary
Confused by “One Way’s”
And my new fellow travelers
Shared little in praise.
But in no time I got it,
The crux of this test,
And found I could swear
Just as good as the rest.
The next thing I noticed
On walks with my pet
Was that some of our neighbors
Have a different mind-set.
It seems that it doesn’t
Upset them at all
To cast out their refuse
To just let it fall
All over the sidewalk,
All over the street,
As we walk through the park
It’s all under our feet.
They cast out their wrappers,
Used bottles and cans,
A half-eaten sandwich
And old pots and pans,
A rusty old bike
That no longer works,
Though I try to think better
I just call them jerks.
There are things more upsetting
I often combat,
But I’ll spare you the details
And leave it at that.
And speaking of walking
Another odd sight
That I often do notice
And I wonder who’s right.
It seems a great number,
A whole demographic,
Step off of the curb
Into oncoming traffic.
At first I surmised
That they lacked common sense,
But now I believe
It’s pure arrogance.
They’ve simply decided
They’ll do as they wish,
But I do hate to tell them
Moving metal will squish.
The winter was on us
Our first few months here,
But as temperatures rose
It became very clear
That another new aspect
Of city life waited,
Quite possibly that
Which I have most hated.
As we opened our windows
To let in Spring’s air,
The noise from the street
Was like a nightmare.
No matter the time,
Be it daylight or dark,
The noise of the city
Is its greatest hallmark.
The cars and the cycles
With mufflers detached,
They race down our street,
All sounds outmatched.
But how they do try,
The sirens and yelling,
Car brakes and tires,
The kids tattle-telling.
The noise is incessant
It never does wane
I can’t wait for cold weather
And closed windows again.
And now while I’ve grumbled,
Please hear me clear,
I do love my job
And I’m glad that we’re here.
But life is much different
Of that there’s no doubt.
There are certainly things
I could do without.
Still the city’s been full
Of many surprises,
Good parks and gyms
To do exercises.
Very nice neighbors
Right out our front entrance,
Very nice stores
Within walking distance.
Museums and restaurants,
Though good coffee is lacking,
But nothing so dreadful
To send up back packing
To our wonderful Maine
That place we hold dear.
No we’ll stay here in Woo-ster,
At least ’til next year!
December 2005
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