Christmas with A Mad Old Man
Snowflakes falling
Lights are blinking
The old man sits there
Alone and thinking
Buttoning her coat
She stops to stare
The old man smiles
She’s new here
He waves her over
And thus she goes
She sits on a chair
The fire warms her toes
“You’re new?” he says,
She gives a nod
“I’m old,” he says,
“And my name’s Tod.”
“Why do you wait here?”
She asks him.
“Because it was cold once,
When I was Tim.”
“But you’re Tod,”
She says bemused,
“But once,” he says,
“I was a young recluse.”
She sighs and stands up,
“This is a care home, after all,
I can’t expect sanity,
Not from one, not from all.”
There’s a knock then,
And she answers the door.
People stand there,
Two, three, four and more.
“It’s late for a visit,”
Says she to they.
“Never too late,” one says,
“On Christmas Day!”
They file in and
Greet the man who is mad,
“Merry Christmas, old man,
Brother, Grandpa and Dad!”
“Won’t you stay?”
Asks a little one of the nurse.
“No,” she says,
“For Christmas is a curse!”
“After the merry,
After the drink,
There’s nothing left
Not one drop, not one blink
“The food is eaten
The cheery faces gone,
You’re all alone,
What was the point of the fun?”
“The point, my dear,”
Says the old man who is mad,
“And to this listen well,
Is that it is one great fad!”
“On which other day,
Can you throw your worries away
And eat to your heart’s desire,
None but Christmas Day!”
“So join us, m’dear,
Don’t wallow in fear
For this great day,
Comes but once a year!”
And so they dined, and
For the first time in many years,
The nurse was
A part of the Christmas cheer.
Lights are blinking
The old man sits there
Alone and thinking
Buttoning her coat
She stops to stare
The old man smiles
She’s new here
He waves her over
And thus she goes
She sits on a chair
The fire warms her toes
“You’re new?” he says,
She gives a nod
“I’m old,” he says,
“And my name’s Tod.”
“Why do you wait here?”
She asks him.
“Because it was cold once,
When I was Tim.”
“But you’re Tod,”
She says bemused,
“But once,” he says,
“I was a young recluse.”
She sighs and stands up,
“This is a care home, after all,
I can’t expect sanity,
Not from one, not from all.”
There’s a knock then,
And she answers the door.
People stand there,
Two, three, four and more.
“It’s late for a visit,”
Says she to they.
“Never too late,” one says,
“On Christmas Day!”
They file in and
Greet the man who is mad,
“Merry Christmas, old man,
Brother, Grandpa and Dad!”
“Won’t you stay?”
Asks a little one of the nurse.
“No,” she says,
“For Christmas is a curse!”
“After the merry,
After the drink,
There’s nothing left
Not one drop, not one blink
“The food is eaten
The cheery faces gone,
You’re all alone,
What was the point of the fun?”
“The point, my dear,”
Says the old man who is mad,
“And to this listen well,
Is that it is one great fad!”
“On which other day,
Can you throw your worries away
And eat to your heart’s desire,
None but Christmas Day!”
“So join us, m’dear,
Don’t wallow in fear
For this great day,
Comes but once a year!”
And so they dined, and
For the first time in many years,
The nurse was
A part of the Christmas cheer.
