The Old Lady Down the Street

A curled-up bundle of skin and hair Adorns the window-seat The sorry remains of Kitty The old lady down the street To those who saw her struggle daily With her heavy shopping trolley All of her ignorant neighbours And her estranged sister Polly To all of the people Who used to stand and laugh Here lies Kitty, loner Kitty Written on her epitaph Kitty was a lonely soul No family or friends had she Only the teenagers two doors down Tony, Beth and Marie They'd pop in on pension day And ask her for a loan With no intention of paying her back Got money for drugs then left her alone Just the other day She'd decided to have a look In the sideboard drawer For her pension book The book wasn't where she'd put it In the right-hand drawer Maybe she'd done like two weeks ago Dropped it on the post-office floor Mrs Kemp had brought it round Said she'd noticed it after she'd left She stressed she was lucky that it had been found Nearly a victim of I.D theft Her state benefit had been cut Though not told the reason why Thinking about rent and energy bills She'd often sit and cry Tony, Beth and Marie are banging on the door What do they want from Kitty? They've had it all and they want more Kitty is now at peace Her maker she has met She died alone in squalor Her heart filled with regret The council fumigated the house Used disinfectant till it was replete The only evidence of Kitty A large stain on the window seat There are so many like Kitty But no-one cares ask why Abandoned by society And left alone to die All that remained of Kitty Was curled up on the window-seat The quiet soul with no-one The old lady down the street