The Ballad of Mushroom Down (Poem)

There was a land I once heard tell

'Twas christened Mushroom Down

The folk who lived there loved it well

And never left their town

They stayed there from the hour of birth

Until the day they died

They never cared for any earth

Except their Mushroom pride

They made their homes beneath the caps

Of fungi wide and tall

And when time came for tea perhaps

A neighbor came to call

And while they sat in shade serene

And offered cream and cakes

They talked of things they'd never seen

Beyond the Mushroom lakes

They did not wish to journey there

They were contented so

But past the mossy banks somewhere

Lie what they did not know

More curious they grew by day

And still more so by night

They wondered if there were away

To take a Mushroom flight

Tormented by this new desire

More restless they became

And many began to conspire

On blueprints for a frame

A brilliant flying vehicle

Of mushroom caps and string

One gent proved astronautical

And built the very thing

And so the day arrived at last

On which the plane should board

The celebration went far past

What they could best afford

But they were folks of merry ways

And when the kegs were drained

In unison arose their gaze

And on the stroke --- it rained

Now in the hist'ry of the town

No soul had ever seen

A flood the likes of which poured down

Upon the Mushroom Green

A gathering was held betwixt

The elders late that night

And even their votes were unmixed:

"We must postpone the flight!"

The disappointment through the land

Was more than some could bear

For their own world, once thought so grand,

They did no longer care

To say the least it was a shame

To see the people act

As though they'd lost their hope, their flame

When their poor plans were sacked

But still the rain continued on

For more than fifty days

Their mushroom store was almost gone

They dreamt of sunshine rays

And that's when they began to cease

Their thoughts of other towns

If only this storm would decrease

They'd cherish Mushroom Downs

That night was spent in blackness deep

No star was seen to shine

But when the morning broke their sleep

They saw a sight divine

The rain was nowhere to be found

The sky was fresh and clear

Hurrahs of joy for miles around

Were all that one could hear

And what is more, the earth had sprung

New mushrooms overnight

And many hymns of praise were sung

And no one spoke of flight

And so at last the ballad ends

With happiness sublime

And so the story goes, my friends

That is, until next time…