Grigleston
Grigleston is a postman
He wakes up every morn
Puts on his suit and his fine hat
Eats his flakes made of corn
His life is full of routines
The same things every day
You could almost set your watch
By the things that he does say
“Good morning Rose” at 7 when he arrives at work
“How’s it going” at 10 to Sam the coffee station clerk
“What have I got today?” at 1 when he opens his lunch
Even though it is always a sandwich and carrots (there because they crunch)
At 4 he ends his day
Makes the short walk home
No one is there to greet him
No one but a small garden gnome
Grigleston is a kind man
But not the most lovely to look at
Something happened when he was born
His whole face is like a book — flat
To study a bit more closely
Is to see Grigleston’s face
As a tapestry of stories
A quite hopeful sort of place
There are some parts, yes
There because of pain
To be ugly in this world
Leaves a certain kind of stain
But on other parts of Grigleston’s face
Are creases made with love
His face may be different
But he has the heart of a peaceful dove
It might have been easy
It might be what you expect
For this face to be full of hate
For this face to shout the neglect
But many years ago
When Grigleston was fairly young
He realized he had a choice
The arc of his life, on this decision it hung
He could turn inward
Let other’s reactions define him
He saw that road — a lonely path
A future sad, hard and grim
Or he could turn outward
And always be of service
This seemed a much brighter path
But of course, it made him nervous
He would be exposing himself
To all the teasing, meanness, and jeers
But he chose to risk it
Embrace some of his fears
He started joining
All kinds of different groups
Book clubs, choirs, volunteering
Even a theatre troupe
At first it was quite hard
People can be cruel
Even when people get older
it can seem like they are back in high school
But the thing about Grigleston
As soon as you spend the time
You find yourself liking him
His spirit has something sublime
So yes, Grigleston comes home
To an empty house
But all he does is change his clothes
Then he is out and about
So many people love him
So many people care
Grigleston’s life is not an empty one
It is a journey shared
