Suntown and Nightville

Down the road and around the way,
There’s a place where the sun shines 24 hours a day.

Now, no one knows why the sun never goes down,
Why it never turns night in this small little town.
But, everyday, be it June or December,
The daylight’s been there as long as one could remember.

No clouds in the sky, and no rain ever fell,
There’s never been snow, as far as anyone could tell.
The sun hung in the sky, like a big orange ball
The weather man on the news had the easiest job of all.

The kids in the town tried to make lemonade to sell,
But the ice cubes they used were too quick to melt,
The pitcher was cold when they stepped on their stoop,
But the first glass they poured was as hot as hot soup!

And, so, in this land where the light wouldn’t end,
A meeting was called for all to attend.
On a night in November, or perhaps it was May,
The Mayor came to hear what the people would say.

“We’re sick of the light!  There’s just no way,
to get a good night sleep when it’s constantly day!”
“It’s too warm all the time, we wish that it weren’t!
We’re hot and we’re tired and always sunburnt!”

The meeting went on for a day and a half,
Or perhaps it was two, if you re-do the math.
No solution was reached, and all left upset,
Angry and tired, and soaking with sweat.

Now we’ll pause this part of the story for a bit,
Don’t worry, dear reader, we’ll get back to it.
For now, we move down the road, to the right,
to a place where it’s darker, where it’s always night.

As with the last little town, no one knew,
Why the sun never shone, and the plants never grew.
The street lights were on, but they wore out a lot,
If you ask if it’s warm, well, I tell you it’s not.

The people who lived here slept often and well,
They were always well rested, from what one could tell.
However, the cold was what bothered them most,
It would freeze their hot teas, and cool off their toast.

The hot water bottles would freeze till they burst,
The sound of their chattering teeth was the worst.
Their lawns and their plants didn’t grow even twice,
How can you grow them in patches of ice?

They huddled in blankets, heavy clothing and hats,
Everything was bundled, from their cars to their cats,
When it snowed, how it snowed!  There were snowmen to build,
But no one went outside, from being too chilled.

And so, in their houses, they stayed and they stayed,
Huddling around the fires they’d made.
And so, the Mayor, concerned for his town,
Visited the houses, and made all the rounds.

“W-we hate to be cold!  Our water has froze!
We’re bitterly cold from our teeth to our toes!”
“We wish it were warmer, at least just a bit,
Our bottoms have frozen to the place where we sit!”

House after house, every woman and man,
Made their complaints, as best as they can.
See, talking is hard when your teeth chitter-chatter
But the Mayor, he listened, and that was what mattered.

Now, my dear reader, you probably say,
“Why would they live where there was no day?”
Well, it was here that they were born, and here that they stayed,
I assure you, dear reader, they knew no other way.

Now the Mayors of Suntown and Nightville gave thought,
to the problems that their own town’s weather had brought.
They spent days and nights thinking, and trying to solve,
the dilemmas in which they had become involved.

After much thinking and not even a clue,
The Mayor’s came up with what they should do.
In order for them to find help for their towns
They must seek outside advice, cover lots of ground.

Now the Mayors, one from one town, and one from another,
With similar thoughts, knowing not of each other,
happy and hopeful with what they decided,
were truly in shock when their autos collided.

“What did you do?” Suntown’s Mayor then roared,
As his car let go of the steam it had stored,
As they came face to face, they both stopped, and they stared,
At each other’s sash, each one reading ‘Mayor’.

“Mayor of Nightville”, Suntown’s Mayor did read,
And the thoughts ran through his mind at high speed.
“Mayor of Suntown”, Nightville’s Mayor had read,
And also had ideas running through his head.

Then they stared to talk, and talk they did, too.
‘Cause as everyone knows, that’s what Mayors do.
They talked and they talked, at the side of the road,
And listened intently to the stories they told.

After hours of chat, and some heated debate,
While their cars did remain in a horrible state,
They finally agreed on a simple solution,
One without paperwork, or too much confusion,

Since the people of Nightville didn’t favor the chill,
They would move into Suntown, just over the hill.
And the people of Suntown would leave all the heat,
And settle in Nightville, just down the street.

“A solution!  It’s settled!”  The Mayors did cheer,
they shook hands with excitement, their eyes gave a tear,
and the townsfolk, they cheered as they heard of the plan,
and set about packing, as fast as they can.

Within a short week, all the people had moved,
And, one and all, the townspeople approved.
The townsfolk were happy, and the Mayors were glad,
And proud of the wonderful idea they’d had.

Now, the townsfolk of Suntown, who now lived in Nightville,
Had never before felt such a deep chill.
The clothing they’d packed, well, it worked in the heat,
But you can’t walk in snow with no boots on your feet.

In sandals and short-pants, and t-shirts to wear,
The cold was becoming too much to bear.
They tried to keep warm, the best that they could,
But nothing they tried did anyone any good.

The people of Suntown, who now lived in Nightville,
Began coughing, and sneezing, as anyone will,
Their bodies were achy, they noses were runny,
And they all caught a cold, which isn’t so funny.

“We wish we were home, in the sun, where it’s warm!”
“We never thought moving would cause so much harm!”
“Those people from Nightville must love it a lot!”
But, as you’ll see, they really did not.

The townsfolk from Nightville, who now live in Suntown,
Were not used to the sunlight always shining down.
The clothing they packed was used for cold weather,
They wore mittens, and hats, and galoshes, and sweaters.

The heat made them sweat, and the sun made them tan,
And the sweat made them stinky, as only it can.
The people tried all that they could to keep cool,
From ice, to a fan, to a dip in the pool.

The heat was too much, more than a person could take,
The fans worked so hard, they began to break.
The heat from the sun made the people get lazy,
The thought of exerting yourself was just crazy.

“We don’t like the heat!  We just can’t keep cool!”
“For agreeing to this, we feel like such fools!”
“We don’t like the feeling of sweat on our backs!”
“Those people from Suntown can have the place back!”

The Mayors were panicked, their plan had gone wrong,
It started out good, but had not lasted long,
They rushed to a meeting, and talked with each other,
And suggested ideas, one after another.

At the end of the day, it was finally agreed,
As to what it really is that the townsfolk need.
They talked, and debated, and wrote it all down,
And agreed to go back to their own little towns.

The people of Suntown went back to the heat,
Where they laughed, and they sang, and they played in the street.
And the people of Nightville went home to the cold,
And I think they built snowmen, or so I’ve been told.

Now the people of Suntown and Nightville agreed,
That vacations may be the one thing they need.
So, once a year, Nightville and Suntown would trade,
For this was the agreement the Mayors had made.

So, for just a week, the towns would switch places,
And when they came home, there’d be smiles on their faces,
And they all knew that no matter where they would go,
One thing is for certain, there’s no place like home.