A Christmas Carol

A poetic take on the Dickens' classic

Look at the people come and go
Through snowy streets of London town
Look at their faces all aglow
As frosty snowflakes tumble down

Look at the children laugh and play
With spirits high this Christmas Eve
And see them laughing on their way
Through run-down streets they wend and weave

Now look at the man with the angry frown
As the lamp light casts his shadow huge
Skulking his way through London town
The miserly Ebenezer Scrooge

And see him reach his lodgings bare
And close the door to the world's delight
With a "Bah" and a "Humbug" he climbs the stair
And bids the world a cold "Good Night"

=====

Now hear the clock upon the wall
As it strikes upon the midnight hour
Hear the sound from out the hall
And feel the eerie ghostly power

And see old Scrooge sit up and stare
As the bedside candle burns its last
And see before him standing there
The ghastly Ghost of Christmas Past

Now hear the apparition state:
"Old Ebenezer, come with me
We’ve lots to do, and the hour is late
There’s much I have for you to see"

And in a flash they are in flight
Across the city's midnight sky
And in a park the pair alight
To see a maiden sit and cry

And standing there beside the girl
Is Ebenezer as in his youth
And as we watch the scene unfurl
We see his history's awful truth

Young Ebenezer, calm and cold,
Tells the girl "This much is true:
My love of money, wealth, and gold
Is greater than my love for you"

And see the young man turn and leave
As tears stream down the maiden's face
And hear the old Scrooge sadly grieve:
"Cruel spirit, let us leave this place"

"This girl was once my heart's delight
She made me feel a king of men
But I’ve not seen her from that night
And I have known no love since then"

And in a flash old Scrooge awakes
From in his bed with a nightmare scream
And he can't be sure as his heart aches
If this was real or just a dream

"It can't be real. I’m still in bed!"
As tears of joy he starts to weep
And on his pillow rests his head
And falls into a troubled sleep

=====

Now hear the clock upon the wall
As it strikes upon the hour of one
And hear the sound from out the hall
At ghostly cries that have begun

And see Scrooge wake in mortal fear
And hide his face behind his hands
And see before him now appear
The Ghost of Christmas Present stands

And see the miser cower in bed
"Cruel demon, can't you let me be?"
And see the spirit shake his head
And say to Scrooge "Now come with me"

And in a thrice they are away
To a meagre hovel, drab and bare
And see inside on Christmas Day
Bob Cratchit's family living there

And hear, despite their lowly station
The family's laughter, light and gay
A house of fun and celebration
Wherein the Cratchit family play

But in the corner pale and white
See the frail and sickly boy
And on his face is pure delight
Despite his illness, see his joy

It’s Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit's son
Whose illness makes his body weak

And though he tries to join the fun
A deathly rattle when he speaks

And hear old Ebenezer enquire
"Oh spirit, why ails this urchin's heart?"
But hear the spirit full of ire
Tell old Scrooge they must depart.

And once again see Scrooge awaken
In his chambers, all alone
Returned from where he once was taken
And the Ghost of Christmas Present gone

=====

Now hear the clock upon the wall
As it strikes upon the hour of two
And hear the sound from out the hall
And see Scrooge slowly coming to

And hear the creaking of the door
And see the miser stricken dumb
For standing on the bedroom floor
The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come

"Oh let me be" the miser said
"I’ve been through quite enough this night"
But see the spirit shake his head
And in a flash they are in flight

And see them now in Cratchit's room
On Christmas morn a year from now
Instead of laughter, there is but gloom
On Cratchit's face a furrowed brow

"Oh spirit, why does he so behave?
Why does he cry into his hands?"
And in a flash they're at a grave
Where a tiny little headstone stands

And see Scrooge reading from the stone
By the lamplight, dark and dim
These words that chill him to the bone:
Rest In Peace, our Tiny Tim

"Oh cruel spirit, wicked beast!
Why must you take this poor lad's life?
This boy who harmed you not the least
You took from Cratchit and his wife!"

The spirit gives him no reply
But leads him through the evening gloom
And caring not for Scrooge’s cry
He shows to him another tomb

A tiny service is underway
A burial for a wicked stooge
And hear the parson coldly say
"Good riddance, Ebenezer Scrooge"

And see the tears on Scrooge's face
"Oh spirit! Can this really be?
Is this to be my resting place?
Is this the fate that's meant for me?"

"Please let me end my years of strife
And grant me leave to make amends
No more for me the miser’s life
I’ll fill my days with love and friends"

But the spirit moves to where Scrooge stands
As the parson says his last Amen
He takes the miser by the hands
And closes Scrooge’s eyes and then...

=====

See Scrooge open up his eyes
And watch his body's slow revive
And hear the miser's joyous cries
"I am not dead! I'm still alive!"

"Oh spirits, if you hear me now
You’ve done your work as best you can
Please mark me on this solemn vow:
I swear to be a better man!"

And see old Scrooge now running through
The icy roads and snow filled streets
And wishing Seasons Greetings to
Each man and woman that he meets

And see him quick to market race
To buy the makings of a feast
And see the joy upon his face
To count the cost not in the least

And see him to Bob Cratchit’s run
And share with him the season's cheer
Oh hear the laughter, see the fun
Then hear his sorrow most sincere

"Oh dearest Cratchit, loyal friend
Please forgive my miser's ways
And mark those times are at an end
And from this moment, better days"

And watch as Ebenezer sees
The little urchin on the chair
And lift the boy upon his knees
And give to him a loving stare

And see the tears in Scrooge’s eyes
As he repents for all he's done
But hear as Tiny Tim replies
And says "God bless us, everyone!"

THE END

Reviews

[Beccy]

And what a wonderful take this indeed is.

It take a high level of skill to maintain the rhythm and the rhyme throughout such a lengthy poem; and tell the story so well into the bargain; but you made it seem a walk in the park.

This is absolutely my kind of poetry and I thoroughly enjoyed it from first line to last.

Merry Christmas.

Beccy.

[Inyourshadow]

Perfect for the coming season.
Ok so you are a master of childrens poetry and here decide to stretch the point by re writing a classic into your own classic style Baz. The ending befitting the origonal perfectly, you really captured the story and made it fun for the younger readers. Keep em' coming

[spence]

Absolutely amazing! I am in total and utter awe of this! What a marvellous adaptation- I cannot commend and compliment you enough on this write. I read it later than i intended to, but even though the festivities are over this really reeled me in. How you managed to put all that together so eloquently I'll never know- you omitted certain parts of the original to immaculate effect in my opinion and pulled the reader along with old scrooge. I've always loved the original story and I'd be proud to have this as an accompaniment to my copy. Excellent work- first time I've given full marks on here, (I think so anyway, but my memories quite bad), but this is top rate! Cheers for sharing this- I'm blown away, spence

[Kayla]

Wow!! Very well done!!! Great poetic take on a great story. I still don't know how you can come up with so many rhymes haha

[.]

Baz ..you never fail to give the best rhyming poems..yours is a crafted work and only you could do this..brilliant

[Revolutionary]

I just hapened to come look at your writing because I am running a creative writing class for 6 to9 yr old boys.i am running a christmas contest for them to judge on this site.Will you please enter this poem.I will read it to them anyways,but I am sure they will want to vote for it.I