Poems (Radford)/Nobody in Town

by Dollie Radford

Nobody in Town

I stand upon my island home,
 My island home in Regent Street,
And listen to the ceaseless foam
 Of traffic breaking at my feet:
The sky above is clear and sweet,
 The summer day is smiling down,
I muse upon it, and repeat
 That there is nobody in town.

All day a living metronome
 Keeps up a firm relentless beat,
All day the little children roam
 Through airless alleys, in the heat;
All day the men and women meet
 With tired eyes, and settled frown,
I marvel, in my safe retreat,
 That there is nobody in town.

Ah world beneath the sky's blue dome,
 In flannels white, and spotless gown,
Ah would that such a day might come,
 When there was nobody in town.