The Quiet Old Man

The Quiet Old Man

He sits to the side, and watches everyone,
Never saying much, he sits there in the sun
If you look carefully, you may see him smile,
No one notices the wrinkled old man, he seems senile

He never says a word, only sits there quietly,
And remembers how in the past, people used to be
Never rushing frantically, blindly moving to and fro
Always saying “Hi” to friends, and to those they didn’t know

But times have changed and passed him by
No one has time for a quiet old guy,
One who knows how this all began
And how it all can be again

For though we rush from here to there,
He knows our needs and wants to share
All we have to do is look, and ask a question of him
His answer will be true, not given on a whim

He created this town, the stores, all that we see,
Built the town hall, the post office, and the library
He was the reason that we all came to this place
He welcomed us all, no matter our race

One day we decided he was needed no more
And in many a house, he was shown the door
He was snubbed, forgotten, pushed to the side,
But he stayed, just waiting, for someone to confide

Once in a while a child, will see him and grin,
Often with ice cream dripping from their chin
Parents are asked who he is, why he’s there
They reply, “I don’t know, you see him where?”

For parents can’t see him, they’ve forgotten his name
Had no idea he existed, that was surely a shame
His name didn’t matter, he’d used many in fact
To him it wasn’t important, for life was just an act

A child finally asked why he sat there all day
He answered, “I’m forgotten now, but I’ll never go away.
I made this lovely place that we love and live in
Others helped greatly, but they too are forgotten”


Slowly he arose from his seat, looking to the sky
Looked around once more, this time with tears in his eyes
He looked at the child, so brave to ask that question,
Blew him a kiss, and walked straight away in one direction

No one knows that he left or where he went,
His name, forgotten, but his kindness not ill spent
The people still rush by, from here to there,
But now, they have time, for others who care

Now a young boy soon to be a man,
Sits quietly and watches all that he can
He remembers how he was once young and naïve
Remembers the old man, for him he grieves

He knows his life will be spent helping others
They’ll not know his name, nor ever bother
To ask it of him, for his help they expect
One day he’ll see a young one, with them he’ll connect

Life does go on you see, repeated almost daily
Someone comes and helps us when we’re in need
What goes around comes around, no one stands alone
Except he who sits quietly, his job is never done.

Jim Dorrell
4/3/11