Crabby Old Man, (Poem worth reading)

[HysteryDiagnosis]

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 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 . . . . . 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!!

[annabanana]

1. aw jeez. . .

you got me

[lillypaddle]

2. Who knows

if the "crabby old man" really wrote this or not. It doesn't matter. The sentiment is there, and the feeling.

K&R for all the "crabby old men and women" - and their families. I worked with seniors in an assisted living environment - and maybe more importantly, I've gone crabby and old myself.

Love to you all.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Touching. I am not nearly as old as this, but I have to relate to

"But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells". I can hardly look in the mirror, because I don't know who that is looking back at me. I still think I should look like that thirty year old woman, because that is how I still feel.

[Pholus]

4. Very nice....

I do miss the old man (as I called Dad) quite a bit. He wasn't shy about talking about the old days...

[blueamy66]

7. I miss my old man too.

This poem made me cry.

[unkachuck]

5. K&R....n/t

[applegrove]

6. Sweet.

[TexasObserver]

8. Actually written by Dave Griffith of Ft. Worth, Texas.

It is a great poem, but the story is a fabrication.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/crabby-old-man.htm

From that source:

"The poem, titled Too Soon Old, was written by Dave Griffith of Fort Worth, Texas. Griffith told TruthOrFiction.com that he wrote the poem more than 20 years ago and that he meant for it to be simple, and to the point, from youth through old age in his own personal life, high school football, Marines, marriage, the ravages of his own disabilities.

Someone took the poem from his site, created a false story about it, and started it circulating on the Internet.

Griffith is the author of more than 500 poems, which are posted on his personal website."