People not from here call it NOR-FU-KHH

(Do you like how I hyphenated that?)

The Navy brings a lot of people

Some feel stuck

Some feel fat

I’ve seen so many

Regardless of how they feel, there’s room for any

On one main road there’s brick apartments and construction cones

Go the next block over and there’s crepe myrtles, hospitals, and bigger homes

There’s crime – I wish there weren’t

Bus stops and downtown bars full of people who’ve been hurt

But healers come here too

From the other side of the Atlantic blue

There’s education

Basketball courts, sidewalks to run

A 7-mile beach where you can walk and see almost no one

Running through this town, over its bridges, is pure elation

The water sparkles, the humidity smothers

The seasons peak

I could never leave it for another

It’s so unique

Though it seems everyone else leaves

It boasts all I need

The hospital where I was born, all the places I’ve worked, my husband, my family

I drove all around it today – I would rather have biked or ran

But I felt above it

Like a plan over land

I love to watch it

And like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem

I pray for this city

That God’s kingdom will come

The construction sign says to Stay Right

And I want to do right

In this city I love

Before my time comes

Let righteousness stick

Let each one gloat with goodness

Surely God too loves Norfolk