When an old man died in the
geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it
was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going
through his meager possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and
content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed
to every nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to
Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared
in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and
appearing in magazines for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also
been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And
this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the
author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.
Cranky Old Man
What
do you see, nurses? .................. What do you see?
What are you
thinking ....... when you're looking at me?
A cranky old
man ..................................... not very wise,
Uncertain of
habit ............................ with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his
food .................... and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud
voice ....... "I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to
notice ............ the things that you do.
And forever is
losing .............................. a sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or
not .................. lets you do as you will,
With bathing and
feeding ................ the long day to fill?
Is that what you're
thinking? ........ Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes,
nurse .... you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I
am ........................ as I sit here so still,
As I do at your
bidding .................... as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of
ten .......... with a father and mother,
Brothers and
sisters .................... who love one another
A young boy of
sixteen ................ with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon
now .................... a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at
twenty ................ my heart gives a leap.
Remembering the
vows ............ that I promised to keep.
At twenty-five,
now .................. I have young of my own.
Who need me to
guide ........... and a secure happy home.
A man of
thirty ....................... my young now grown fast,
Bound to
each other ................ with ties that should last.
At forty, my
young sons .......... have grown and are gone,
But my woman is
beside me ........... to see I don't mourn.
At fifty, once
more ............... babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know
children ............... my loved one and me.
Dark days are upon
me .................. my wife is now dead.
I look at the
future ....................... I shudder with dread.
For my young are
all rearing ............ young of their own.
And I think of the
years ..... and the love that I've known.
I'm now an old
man .......................... and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old
age .......................... look like a fool.
The body, it
crumbles ............. grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a
stone ............... where I once had a heart.
But inside this
old carcass ....... a young man still dwells,
And now and
again .................. my battered heart swells
I remember the
joys ...................... I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and
living ........................ life over again.
I think of the years, all too
few .................. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact ............... that
nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people ......................... open and
see.
Not a cranky old man ................................... look
closer.
See ........................................................................... ME!!
Remember this poem when you
next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking
at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!
The best and most beautiful things
of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the
heart!
Please share and pass this on if you've been touched, just like how I have.
