The Lonely Old Woman

It wasn't the pain that destroyed you
Or the fact you can't walk anywhere,
You stopped me once at the end of my shift
And asked, 'Nurse, does anyone care?
'I'm a lonely old woman, children have I none,
My parents are dead, my brothers and sisters and cousins are all gone.
Who will be there at my funeral? Who will be there when I die?
Who will miss me when I'm dead and who will mourn or cry?'

I said I would certainly miss you but my life must carry on,
The ward would look different without you but I've a hospital to run.
There isn't much else I can do for you,
There is nothing else I have planned,
But I'm sure the staff in this hospital
Care about you as much as they can.

You still feel desperately lonely for you have no family to leave,
No husband to struggle without you, no grandchildren to grieve.
I wonder if the words I said to you really did any good
But I think that with my reassurance I helped you as much as I could.