The Elderly
Poetry by Lance Landall
A Spiritual And Inspirational Poem from All-Creatures.org

Please don’t laugh at the elderly, nor treat them very thoughtlessly,
For sometime in the future — you too — will also elderly be.
And then you’ll know just what it’s like, and much differently will see,
Should anyone much younger than you, treat you just as thoughtlessly.

These older folk that you’re mocking, are still young people deep inside,
Whose aging skin and muscle, their attractiveness and youth now hide.
Yes, it’s just their outer body that so different makes them seem,
And a gait, that no doubt reveals that they don’t have quite so much steam.

So many spend their remaining years living very lonely lives,
Doing their best to manage on their own, minus husbands or wives.
And many of them — having lost their spouse — now have less will to live,
Therefore, more tender care and kindness, the elderly we should give.

Most of these elderly folk have also given up many years
To lovingly raise their children amidst difficulties and tears.
Yes, they have sacrificed and scraped, and have spent many restless nights,
Having stayed up until their night owls returned, and switched off the lights.

Too many of the elderly are unnecessarily sent
To an old folks’ residence where their final years on Earth are spent.
It seems that there are many children who too quickly send away
Their elderly Mum or Dad, who, with their children would rather stay.

So let’s treat them with far more care, for they have feelings just like you,
And many of these older folk also get depressed, or feel blue.
No, it certainly isn't easy when one’s health declines with age,
And the years, just like a curtain, glide much quicker across life’s stage.

These older folk have much to offer, and much have contributed,
And much from which we benefit, to them can be attributed.
So, let’s treat them with greater respect, and the honour that they’re due,
For without these elderly people, there would be no me and you.