Posted by: Edelweiss3
A Crabby Old Man - 02/17/10 06:35 PM
Perhaps this has already been posted here, but if it had, it's still nice to be reminded again of who they were. It makes it easier to deal with who they are now:
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte , Nebraska , 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.
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 far away 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 around
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!!
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.
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte , Nebraska , 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.
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 far away 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 around
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!!
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.