santafejoe
Contributor
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!! 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!
> 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!! 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!
