The Ups and Drowns of Waterdown

Whenever the rain comes falling,

It rearranges our town,

Whatever before was dry and up

Is suddenly wet and down,

They say it’s the fault of Widow Krupp

Who saved her tears in a tub,

And splashes them out with a scream and shout

As rain fills the gutters up.

 

And the streets lie under the waterways

For the river will burst its banks,

Flooding the gardens, and pathways,

There’s nobody else to thank.

We lose all sense of the North and South

As the East and West drift by,

And watch as the town goes spinning round

By gazing up at the sky.

 

People go drifting out in boats

To look for the supermart,

But all they find are the floating goats

That litter the flooded park,

The wooden houses meander by

As they leave their place in the street,

And neighbours wake in a different place

To the one where they fell asleep.

 

No wonder they call it ‘Waterdown’

It could have been ‘Waterup’,

For Waterdown is a drifting town

Thanks to the Widow Krupp,

The townsfolk threaten to duck the witch

As soon as they find the pond,

That lies bewitched by a flooded ditch

Out there, the back of beyond.

 

The pub has been anchored down with ropes

To stop it drifting away,

They towed it down from the heart of town

To give them somewhere to play,

While Madame Loy is the local toy

Who hangs her shingle outside,

‘Come in and play, if you’re bored today,

Entrée, and come for a ride.’

 

They finally got to the Widow Krupp

And drowned the witch in her tears,

Ducked her well in her wooden tub

Now it hasn’t rained for years.

The ground is dry and they wonder why

The river is just a stream,

And for those few who are newly new,

The past was a fitful dream.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Avinash]

I know few villages around the Ganges which face the same situation. So one family can have multiple homes for different seasons because of heavy floods. However here the witch was responsible for more good than evil. As always human intelligence often turn out to be rather foolishness when people can not see beyond their prejudices.

[TPK Stories]

Once again a masterful tale of deceit and evil...well written......

[R Smith]

you must be the most creative poet I have ever read David, it's a sheer pleasure to read you :)

[Marie]

Apparently the Widow Krupp visited Texas not long ago. My front yard was a bog. Brush floated up and down the street. Now she's gone, and the yard has become a desert, and the rain is years and miles away...

[Valentine]

Let their homes float away in the witches tears, but save the pub and the Madam's home. If they all were floating it seems they would have been trying to save themselves rather than see the lady. Well written tale. Valentine

[andrew mitchell]

One of your funniest writes David, to see a pub anchored down by ropes which is a precious commodity amongst men, their watering hole is a sight to behold! lol

[Barbz]

LOL!! This character that you created is one weird witch. As hard as I tried, I couldn't wrap my head around an upside down flood. Drifting boats passed floating goats, and drifting houses bobbed. And how convenient for the locals that anchored down the pub and Madame Loy who guaranteed some joy......Well they finally got to the Widow Krupp and drowned her in her tears, never to have her cast a spell, the end of rain for years......Oh, and the Pond and the bewitched ditch, uh uh, can't touch that.....lol......another brain teaser, DLP....thx, Barbz