To a Crabbit Old Woman
What do we see, you ask, what do we see?
Yes, we are thinking when looking at thee
We may seem to be hard when we worry and fuss
But there’s many of you and too few of us.
We would like far more time to sit by you and talk,
To bath you and feed you and teach you to walk,
To hear of your lives and the things you have done,
Your childhood, your husband, your daughter, your son.
But time is against us, there’s too much to do----
Patients too many and nurses too few.
We grieve when we see you so sad and alone
With nobody near you, no friends of your own.
We feel all your pain and know of your fear
That nobody cares now your end is so near.
But nurses are people with feelings as well
And when we’re together you’ll often hear tell,
of the dearest old Gran in the very end bed
and the lovely old Dad and the things that he said.
We speak with compassion and love and feel sad,
when we think of your lives and the joy that you’ve had.
When the time has arrived for you to depart
You leave us behind with an ache in our heart
When you sleep the long sleep. No more worry or care,
There are other old people and we must be there,
So please understand if we worry and fuss,
There are many of you and too few of us.
submitted by Steve Grealish
