‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens
(Narrated by Jacob Marley)
Once upon a Christmas Eve
When all other workers had taken leave
My one time business partner broods,
The miserly, hateful Ebenezer Scrooge
No thought of charity, love nor cheer
Money is all that Scrooge holds dear.
Chasing carol singers from the door
Mocking the well wishers, cursing the poor
His nephew, Fred, with invitation
Pleads Scrooge to join him on this festive occasion
Refusing the kindness with a shrug,
And turning homeward, like a slug
Locks his door from every mug
“Bah!” said Scrooge. “Humbug!”
Now seven years my ghost has cried
And dragged the chains of both our pride
And as the hourly clock did chime
I appeared to Scrooge, my partner in crime
“Make amends for a misused life,
Or follow me to eternal strife
Three ghosts to you will appear this night
Three ghosts to show your heart of spite”
Scrooge wondered whether he’d been dreaming
When on his neck came a tingling feeling
The spectre’s sight then sent him reeling
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Scrooge was shown his childhood ways
His lonely self as others played
And as the journey took its course
His heart began to feel remorse
Scrooge closed his eyes and prayed until
The second ghoul his room did fill
“Spirit, conduct me where you will”
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost showed Scrooge the weak and poor
And cries behind the Workhouse door
Those labouring for a tiny fee
Whose only hope was charity
Bob Cratchit, the Clerk, in his house so dim
Made merry with his child, poor Tiny Tim
For while other’s cursed the wretched beast
Bob raised a toast; “Mr Scrooge, the founder of the feast”
“Oh what a fool I’ve been! For all my greed
I cannot speak of one good deed”
Scrooge bowed his head in shame to weep
Then shrieked at how the darkness now did creep
The final spirit there appeared
The ghost that Scrooge had always feared
The silent reaper, in shadows leered
The Ghost of Christmas Future
The Spirit showed Scrooge how things would be
If he continued his life so uncharitably
The fate of the sick, the curse of the poor
And Tiny Tim…would be no more
And last they came to an un-kept grave
That bore his name and his soul enslaved
“I will honour Christmas!” Scrooge pleaded in fear
“And I promise to keep it all the year”
With that, Scrooge awoke, it was Christmas Day
“I’ve not a moment to lose, I must change my way!”
He gave his wealth to the poor, and last, but not least
The Cratchits got their Christmas feast
And Scrooge was better than his word
A kinder man you would not have heard
And so, as Tiny Tim observed,
“God Bless us, Every One!”