Old Tom Poem by Ted Middleton

Old Tom

Today is today - we all know that - we're there
But what about yesterday - son, do you care
You know how it feels to know you don't know
Well I knew that feeling, a long time ago

I saw this old man, he was wizened and bent
Well dressed and limping along as he went
He was carrying groceries, like I sometimes do
He smiled as he passed and said 'Son, how are you'

I saw him quite often a time after that
And I asked him his name and where he lived at
'I'm Tom' he told me, but not where he stayed
But I knew at once that a friend I had made

Tom spoke to me often, I listened for hours
He gave his time freely, like we do with ours
The stories of travel, of friendships and strife
I learned lots from old Tom, that helped me in life

One day as I walked through the park coming home
Where homeless people would sleep - it was known
A crowd near a tree stood, heads hung and bowed
A young lady wept, as she sobbed out aloud

I went there to look, just to see what the cause
An ambulance man rose - and said without pause
'He's gone' and 'These homeless don't have a prayer'
And I saw the paled face of old Tom laying there

The moral, I'll tell you - I've taken Toms place
I'm wizened and greying with lines on my face
If you've questions of life, that you really must know
Then you'd best ask now, before I too go.