Totnes Poem
From what I’ve seen, I’ve been very impressed,
your ethical town’s a resounding success,
with all good things, you’re truly blessed:
your wines from an organic press,
no food that’s overly processed,
or drenched in chemicals or pest-
-icides – besides, you won’t invest
in industries unscrupulous:
your independent shops redress
a tide of urban facelessness…
Yet…
through all this, I must confess,
whene’er I see your town’s address,
I feel a deep uneasiness:
not an all-possessing stress,
enough to invoke a queasiness,
but still a feeling – nonetheless -
of vague linguistic awkwardness:
a spelling which, to us, suggests
a sound of “uz” instead of “ess”,
a placename only partially-dressed.
Perhaps it’s just me, my brain oppressed,
by orthographic zealousness,
but surely there should manifest,
another less-than-lonely S
upon the back-end of “Totnes”…?
