CRABBY OLD MAN

Post by **ADF-CaptCC** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 4:39 pm

CRABBY OLD MAN

When an old man died in the geriatric
ward of a small hospital near Tampa, Florida,

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 Missouri. The old man's sole bequest to

posterity has since appeared in the Christmas
edition of the News Magazine of
the St. Louis
Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also

been made based on his simple, but eloquent,
poem.

And this little old man, with
nothing left to give to the world, is now
the
author of this " anonymous" poem winging across the
Internet.

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? ...What do you
see?
What are you thinking.....when you're
looking at me?
A crabby 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's 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.
Tis jest to
make old age ......look like a fool.
The
body, it crumbles..........grace and vigor,
depart.
There is now a stone........where I
once had a heart.

But inside this old
carcass . A young guy 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 crabby old
man. Look closer....see........ME!!

[smilie=Crash[1].gif] [smilie=azcrying[1].gif]

Post by **ADF-Rubber** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:08 pm

THAT POEM IS SO SAD . IT MADE ME THINK It sucks that were all , destined to die ......Sometimes I think , It,s all just a lie ..... Scratching my head , my thoughts are oh my ...... then tears start to roll , I break down and cry ....

[smilie=03.gif] [smilie=03.gif] [smilie=03.gif] After one big fat session,I,m feeling so high...Flat on my back,I stare into the sky....My thoughts are so scattered,I begin to wonder why....And just if your wondering, Theres no way I,m BI...

[smilie=flicks.gif] [smilie=flicks.gif]

Post by **ADF-Yodak** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:26 pm

That was a lovely poem Capt... Rubber, your's just made me burst out laughing at the end.