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A Song Before Dying
When he walked in the hospital
the old man was crying
When I asked him the reason,
he said his sick wife was dying
She once was a graceful
professional dancer
And now her whole body
is riddled with cancer
The old man struggled
to hold back his tears
He said they'd been married
for seventy years
Now, I work at the hospital
so I saw him before
His wife was a patient
up on the ninth floor
Well ------ I'm one nosey janitor
so I picked up my broom
And I followed the old man
up to his wife's room
When I got to her room
I quietly stood at the door
And I pretended somehow
that I was sweeping the floor
The old man noticed me there
so he invited me in
His wife was so pale
and she was frightfully thin
I said, "Hello" to the old woman
She seemed pleasant and sweet
The old man sat at her side
and began rubbing her feet
He had known her ----- his whole life
They had been together so long
So, he decided to sing her
an original song
His song was the story
of their happy life
A sort of homage*
to his loving wife
The man named his song
"A Song Before Dying"
And as he was singing
he was silently crying
Now, that old man could sing
He had a beautiful voice
The woman beamed at her husband
She had made an excellent choice
The woman enjoyed the song
the man so lovingly wrote
And she smiled every time
the man hit a high note
He sang of the places
where they used to play
He sang of the vows
on their wedding day
He sang of the sex
which was wet and wild
He sang of the birth
of their very first child
He sang of her days
as a professional dancer
He even sang of the day
they diagnosed her with cancer
Now, I could go on
'Cause his lyrics were long
And the emotions he was showing
were heavy and strong
But, just when the old man
had finished his song,
he looked at his wife.
Something was wrong!
Now ----- I knew the old lady
was gravely ill,
but then ------ she suddenly stopped breathing
and became silent and still.
The old man stood up.
His face red as a beet
And in a flash it was pale
and became as white as a sheet!
The man looked so sad.
He just couldn't stop crying
But, at least his wife heard
"A Song Before Dying"
*For the purposes of this poem 'homage' should be pronounced: (o-mahj )
When he walked in the hospital
the old man was crying
When I asked him the reason,
he said his sick wife was dying
She once was a graceful
professional dancer
And now her whole body
is riddled with cancer
The old man struggled
to hold back his tears
He said they'd been married
for seventy years
Now, I work at the hospital
so I saw him before
His wife was a patient
up on the ninth floor
Well ------ I'm one nosey janitor
so I picked up my broom
And I followed the old man
up to his wife's room
When I got to her room
I quietly stood at the door
And I pretended somehow
that I was sweeping the floor
The old man noticed me there
so he invited me in
His wife was so pale
and she was frightfully thin
I said, "Hello" to the old woman
She seemed pleasant and sweet
The old man sat at her side
and began rubbing her feet
He had known her ----- his whole life
They had been together so long
So, he decided to sing her
an original song
His song was the story
of their happy life
A sort of homage*
to his loving wife
The man named his song
"A Song Before Dying"
And as he was singing
he was silently crying
Now, that old man could sing
He had a beautiful voice
The woman beamed at her husband
She had made an excellent choice
The woman enjoyed the song
the man so lovingly wrote
And she smiled every time
the man hit a high note
He sang of the places
where they used to play
He sang of the vows
on their wedding day
He sang of the sex
which was wet and wild
He sang of the birth
of their very first child
He sang of her days
as a professional dancer
He even sang of the day
they diagnosed her with cancer
Now, I could go on
'Cause his lyrics were long
And the emotions he was showing
were heavy and strong
But, just when the old man
had finished his song,
he looked at his wife.
Something was wrong!
Now ----- I knew the old lady
was gravely ill,
but then ------ she suddenly stopped breathing
and became silent and still.
The old man stood up.
His face red as a beet
And in a flash it was pale
and became as white as a sheet!
The man looked so sad.
He just couldn't stop crying
But, at least his wife heard
"A Song Before Dying"
*For the purposes of this poem 'homage' should be pronounced: (o-mahj )
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