Some Of Us Are Good At Sums! Poem by Denis Martindale

I use my fingers and my thumbs,
At times when I must do my sums,
To calculate the best I can,
Although, of course, I'm not a fan.
Alas, my bills I can't discard,
But sums can be so very hard,
Yet sums tell me what things to buy,
When costs are cheap, or if too high.
And if to haggle now and then,
Agree to five instead of ten.
Can I afford a new romance?
If money's short, then there's no chance,
But if I'm rolling in the dough,
Well, then, dear friends, it's go, go, go.
As time goes on, and I get old,
I've got to save my share of gold,
Towards a pension should I live,
And charities I want to give.
Donating here, donating there,
And thankful for such gifts in prayer.
Funeral costs? They're hard to pay,
The charges rise each passing day.
Enough to frighten me to death,
Right now, before that final breath.
Yet once in Heaven, with Saint Paul,
I'll thank God for each miracle.
How I've survived, I'll never know,
The cash has come, yet had to go,
I couldn't marry, I lacked cash,
And so I couldn't be that rash,
Though sweethearts loved, I couldn't wed,
I saved a lot that way instead.
No wedding, honeymoon, divorce,
No ali-money bills, of course.
So here I am, alone at last,
Reflecting on my lonely past,
Though not in debt, and life's not done,
Sums tell me what I lost and won!


Denis Martindale. October 2020.