A Christmas Gift

 She died today, just three days before Christmas
She died today as a result of poor economics
I mean what was she to do, what could she have done
Everybody’s got to eat and when it’s cold we all need heat
But she couldn’t afford both not on her pension
She sat alone and shivered herself to death
A small notepad lay beside her on the coffee table
With all her workings out, her numerous calculations
Trying desperately to see if she could make ends meet
Her outgoings greatly outweighed her incomings
She had to make hard choices like a politician
Hot soup, cold soup, cooked beans or out of the tin
One bar or two bars on the fire, one hour or two
She sat there in her woolly hat and heavy jumper
She sat there in her blanket, government recommended
She sat there cold and tired and just gave up
Her cold frozen hand still clutching the only Christmas
Card she had received – ‘thinking of you this Xmas’
Icicles tear drops and tracers down her cheeks
She wouldn’t be discovered for another three weeks
Collateral damage, an acceptable casualty of
A war on welfare, a policy to keep the poor, poor
And the workers scared,
It’s all about economics and economic choices
And intentionally ignoring small silent voices
Hypothermia – a Christmas gift for too many