A Christmas Carol
by cricketjeff on December 24, 2009. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
At Christmas those who died before their time
Are cursed to walk the world in misery
They witness every victim of their crime
But cannot end the suffering they see
That Christmas Eve he came to give a chance
To one whose crime was greater than his own
Foretelling there would be a dreadful dance
Dispelling doubt in one almighty moan
The first arrived as church clocks muttered one
He showed our fool the good he’d thrown away
A little understanding had begun
Before the ghost revealed he could not stay
A second ghost displays the here and now
The want and evil man has heaped on man
And how our fool has broken every vow
That all should keep however short their span
The final ghost most terrible of all
Showed how a life can end in pointless waste
The mightiest of men are just one fall
Away from death unmourned their life untraced
At last the fool could see how it should be
That life is only lived in others’ hearts
That happiness means more than misery
If everyone on stage will play their parts
When morning broke the hapless fool had died
And in his place a man who understood
It only takes a moment to decide
One kindly act can make your life feel good
Author notes
Based on Dicken’s short novel of the same name
English