The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Pensioner Poem by Denis Martindale

The old guy was a pensioner. Disabled? Yes, that's true.
Wife gone. He couldn't mention her. Alone, he battled through.
His bills continued one by one, and so he paid them all.
The standing charges weren't much fun. He wished that they would fall.

Now strangers brought him loads of stuff from every famous store,
The sweets and treats he came to love got placed outside his door.
He took the new bags in and then unpacked the goods inside,
With extra wrappings for the bin that sellers would provide.

When Summer came, he sighed once more. That's when his garden grew.
So, he proceeded with the chore to do what he must do.
A few weeds here, a few vines there, then time to walk away,
Or lose morale and face despair for yet another day.

His loneliness had drained his soul. None there to share a word.
Fatigue began to take its toll once vision dulled and blurred.
Sometimes the old guy fell asleep while surfing on the net,
To wisely buy stuff on the cheap and not fall into debt.

When Christmas came, he dined alone, without a single friend,
And while he had a dusty phone, he gave up in the end.
Abandoned by his offspring and relatives as well,
His life had left him wondering, half-Heaven or half-Hell?


Denis Martindale.27th November 2025.