Loving the Seniors All Around Us

Lately Key Chiropractic & Wellness Centers has been attracting a lot of senior practice members. Many of whom lead very productive lives and have wisdom even beyond their years. Interacting with them reminded me of a very moving poem I saw a few years ago about geriatric Scott Sonnon; a father, a husband, and a seemingly insignificant occupant of a geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian Town. His story is one that is played out in so many nursing homes today and I thought it was a great reminder abt. how seniors often view the world; maybe in a way we never could have imagined. The nurses that cared for him believed he never possessed anything of value. When he passed, the nurses discovered among his few belongings, the poem below. It was so impressive and moving that the nurses distributed it to all the staff and other nurses in the hospital.  It was later published in a Melbourne newspaper and has since appeared in yearly Christmas editions of magazines across Australia.  It has also made its way into a number of mental health magazines and is now traveling across the internet.  His story is one that is played out in so many nursing homes today and I thought it was a great reminder abt. how seniors often view the world; maybe in a way we never could have imagined.  If you have seniors in your life this may change, in a positive sense, how you view them.  You might say “How does this relate to health?” A big part of our health comes from how we relate to others both positively and negatively. We can all learn from anyone; even a Cranky Old Man!

Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? ……What do you see?

 What are you thinking .. . when you’re looking at me?

 A cranky 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 is 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. It’s jest to make old age … … . look like a fool. The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart. There is now a stone … where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass . A young man 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 cranky 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!  The best and most beautiful things of this world can’t be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart!

Very Respectfully,

Scott Sonnon