With No Mills by Ed Pacht
I am a mill town
but I have no mills
I was born on the Hill
and lived on the Hill
and grew on the Hill
until …
Cocheco called
called me to the Plain
with a mighty flow to turn the wheels
and build the mills
and the mills called
called to nearby farms
called to frigid northern realms
called and called across the sea
and workers came to me
to run the mills
and weave the cloth
and make the shoes
and build a thriving city here
but I have no mills
the mills have gone
they left for warmer climes
they moved to foreign lands
they died
the wheels no longer turn
the workers lost their jobs
cafes and shops have closed their doors
I am a mill town
but I have no mills
and when a mill town has no mills
it will slowly die
or so they say
but I shall not
I shall not die
I raise my voice and call
from the Hill and from the Plains I call
with the Parson’s voice in Central Square
I call
with two rivers’ mighty flows
I call
and my voice is being heard
and they will come
and while the mill town’s groans resound
and seem to dim the autumn color in the trees
yet in a mill town with no mills
there is life
there is hope
and art will blossom on the streets
and on the old brick walls
and in the city’s office space
and in the shops that once were closed
and they will come
I am a mill town
I have no mills
but I look to something better
and I call for something better
and in my grungy mill town heart
I hope and think I know
that it will come
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