Crabby Old Man

[Ross]

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 . . . . . 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 da y, be there, too!

 

[Nancy]

It brought tears to my eyes. In the last days of Joe's life, he looked very old and sick. To me, he was still the great guy I met and fell in love with, only ravaged with illness.

To one of his nurses, he was just an old, sick, pain in the ass. I had words with that person. And the next day I brought in a very large picture of him when he was well and robust and enjoying life, and I wrote at the bottom, "I am a human being".

That nurse got so angry with me, but that picture stayed taped to the wall, and several doctors commented on it.

 

[escargome]

God Bless the old for if we take the time they have so many stories and wisdom to share. I can still remember my great grandmother and the wonderful stories she would tell of her past and growing up. To me they are and always will be a font of knowledge if we only take the time to be still and listen.

 

[Kathy McCain]

Ross, It did bring tears to my eyes. I had an elderly neighbor who died three weeks ago. (he had mitral valve replacement at 85). We would talk in passing when we were walking our dogs. His wife died about three months ago. His daughter had an estate sale, and I bought a couple of small items. We have several elderly people who have died over the last few years, in my neighborhood. Terrific people, and long time residents of the community. It really makes me stop and wonder, just what our purpose in life is all about. It makes me sad, but they all had good, full lives.

 

[Eva]

Like all others said...it brough tears to my eyes. Life and some people are unfair sometimes. When I look at an old man, I try to imagine what kind of life, succeess, glory, pain, grief, happiness, etc. he had in his youth and would love to see that picture of him. When I sit my FIL these days, he is short-fused sometimes and somehow confused, but I only see the young who went to the Sorbonne and got his Ph.D. and I always ask him to share with me stories of his past and experiences.

 

[Luana]

I agree with what others have said. When I had endocarditis, I was only 33. Ok, having been sick for 3 months and after being in the hospital for a week-and-a-half, I probably looked like crap. I was being transferred to a different room and when the nurse wheeled me into the new room, the bed was being made. She leaned over me and shouted, "YOUR BED'S NOT READY YET!" I said, "I see that. I'm not deaf; I have endocarditis and I'm only 33 and don't know why you're talking to me like I'm 93." Boy, she really frosted me.

 

[Gnusgal]

While there are nurses like that, who don't see past the surface, I know a great many that have taken such great care of me. I had one nurse in 2008 that sat with me and let me cry over my situation for 30 minutes. She listened and cared. Then in 2009 she happened to be my nurse again. It made being in the hospital and away from my 3 month old babies a little easier to have her there.

 

[barbwil]

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 ma n'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.................

 

[olefin]

We will all, one da y, be there, too!

And some of us, sooner than others.

Good one Ross!

 

[Bina]

Excellent poem, it should be posted in every senior's residence or care facility.

 

[Ross]

Excellent poem, it should be posted in every senior's residence or care facility.

It should be posted anywhere that people are taken care of. While I know many that strive for a patient, I've had my share of less then desirables too.

 

[valerie415]

Beautiful poem. I'm pretty confident that there is more to come after this earth life here....our spirits will live on in another world, forever, and we will once again be those young and handsome and beautiful people we know we are on the inside right now.

There are many promises of eternal life in the Bible, but here's one of my favorites. It's from John chapter 11 where Jesus was raising Lazarus from the dead:

Jesus said to her (Martha), “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.

Pretty cool!

 

[debster913]

This poem makes me think of my dad, now dealing with Alzheimer's. It was very touching and reminded me to spend more time with him, for I fear the day when he no longer recognizes me.