Frome is jolly nice
It has
A main street with too many barber shops
Pet firendly tea rooms full of sponge cakes
Caramel fudge and sea salt specialty chocolate
Restaurants only open three days a week
Burger joints with a vegan option - Always!
And Ubers that will be with you in seventeen minutes
For a £7.69 trip

There is glass jar on caf tables
That contains
Home made fortune cookies
Stored in a small brown envelope
On the front of which is
Handwritten in biro:
GIVE A BIG SMILE! :-)
And flyers for the spring festival with
A banner competition (Sunday)
A fun race on (Monday)
And a men-only chat at the local cinema (Tuesday)
As the main events

Bath limestone and period furniture
Everywhere
It wouldn't take much to
Buy an old church or a silk factory
At the local estate agent
And make it your home
A city museum in a round building
Water running down an open gutter
In the middle of a paved street
That don't need health and safety
Crazy busy arts and crafts shops
Full of people who learn to draw
As if their life depended on it
But take their time with the cashier at the till
Chatting about nothing in particular

People smile at me when I walk around
Even teenagers!
As if in doubt
Or because it's nice
How peculiar - How civil
The sweetness of a community
Made of people in no rush
And committed to listening
A pure breed giant dog asleep at their feet
The restaurant manager is 22
He has impeccable manners
And took me through the allergies process faultlessly
When I ask to have the pomegranates removed from my salad

Everywhere, the food is good
The wine reasonably priced
And the st price menu on Tuesdays
Comes with a free pint, a dessert
Or a glass or house red

In my room only silence
Outside and in
I can rest here
Not just add 10 points to my sleep score

Outside the window, a road sign:
Glastonbury - 18 miles

Frome - fierce, earnest and dignified
At the crossroads of magic
Chances are I'll never be back
But it must be said:
Frome is jolly nice.