Norah - A Ballad

 

Norah an old lady of 78

Was feeding the ducks in the lake

She liked her quiet time

And poems, especially those that rhyme

On her feet her shoes were red,

To match the beret on her head

She managed to lose a button from her dress,

which made her unhappy, annoyed,

She couldn’t find it, looked everywhere,

and was lucky she found a spare

This made Norah calm down but she was a worrier at heart

And all this was making her frown,

The kettle was on the hob, oh how she loved her tea

With pictures on the wall, of the beautiful blue, blue sea,

She picked up a book to read, and, found her place,

looking forward to her dinner of chips and plaice.

Norah lived in a big, lonely house among the trees,

With all the small creatures, her favourite, the bees,

Her book was a romance novel, a little bit steamy,

Norah sat and read feeling dreamy.

She was expecting a friend around for a cup of tea,

Will Gladys turn up? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Time for Norah to wash up,

There’s not many to do, just the teapot and a cup.

After washing up the doorbell rang out,

Norah shouted, “I will be there in a min”,

“Oh its Gladys won’t you come in”.

“Make yourself at home, I am so glad you could come!”

Norah wished she could see more of her only son.

She came into the room ever so slowly, ‘

Her tray was trembling and shaking in her hands,

She shuffled really slowly as if she was walking in wet sand

Norah put the tray on the table nice and slow,

With its lovely homemade cake, tied neatly around it, a pink bow

It now was time for Gladys to go home,

Leaving Norah once again, all alone.

 

Norah’s son was on the run,

Where to go? Except to see his mum.

He was running away with the money he stole,

And with him, as a weapon came, a pole.

He knocked on Norah’s door,

She opened it then fell to the floor!

She was so shocked to see him, turning up on a whim

It took a few minutes to recover, and let him in

Norah had always thought her son was perfect in every way,

She wasn’t aware of what he had done that day,

He sat watching the TV until the news came on,

This would definitely change Norah’s view of her son.

She was scared, she was frightened, what has she done?

What had happened? Who was her son?

Oh, what had she done!

She wanted him to stay, but also to go

She felt so confused, and so full of woe,

She was full of despair,

Seeing her son standing there,

But he was wanting to hide and he didn’t care.

He had loads of money in a bag on his back,

A big thing, a large ruck sack

“Mum please can I stay here?” he asked.

She said, “you will be the end of me, I will end up dead!”

The News on the TV came on again

Outside it had started to rain.

Norah couldn’t take her eyes off the pole,

There was blood on the end of it, and all that money he had stole.

That’s what caused her to collapse on the floor,

When she saw him with blood on his shirt stood at the door

She said, “I can’t take this anymore!”

He said “I am your son; you won’t turn me in”

She said “but you have done nothing but sin!”

Then there was a crash, the door kicked wide!

The man on the step looked around the inside.

He said “you thought you could get away from me”.

“But I am cleverer than you, smart arse, can’t you see?”

“You owe me half, if not more for attacking that man

He wasn’t part of the plan”.

The man then reached in his jean’s pocket and pulled out a gun,

He said “there is no escape, nowhere left to run”

Norah was shaking so much, she had to sit down quick,

She felt really ill, then she was sick.

Norah’s son stood wide eyed, wobbling like jelly,

He shit his pants then and there as he stood trembling by the stair

“So” said the man “What will it be?

“Here” said the son, “take half the money”

The man said “I’ve got a better idea instead”

Then turned around and shot him in the head

Norah screamed, and went to faint,

There was lots of blood, all over the door and paint

The man took the opportunity to grab the cash and go

Where he was going to, he didn’t yet know.

 

When Norah came to, she looked all around,

And right in the doorway, was where he was found

She was screaming his name over and over again,

A shot through his head, she could see his brain

She somehow ran to the phone and dialled 999.

As they answered the call, she again was sick.

She was in shock, she ran outside and fell unconscious again,

Her body laid motionless, just lying in the rain.

The police arrived, and the ambulances too,

They didn’t know what had happened there, but they knew what to do.

They secured the scene with tape everywhere,

The neighbours were beginning to stop and stare.

Norah was in the ambulance when she awoke,

She could hardly breathe and started to choke.

“Is he ok?” she sobbed, “will he be alright?”

The policewoman said I am so sorry to inform you - he died tonight.

“No, No, No!” screamed Norah “I must go to my son”

“I still love him no matter what he has done!”

She was still in denial and said, “I must go right away”.

The policewoman said “you have hurt your hip and your head and you must stay”

The ambulance doors closed and a frantic Norah was rushed away,

Away from her beloved son who had caused so many problems that day.

The police found the body laid out on the floor,

There was blood on the carpet, and more on the door.

Then they found the metal pole which was covered with blood on it dried,

“This is one of the men from the bank robbery” the policeman cried,

 “How did he end up on the floor, lying dead?”

With a bullet hole straight through his head.

“Where is his accomplice? Has he all the money and gun.

“He is long gone and is now on the run”.

But they didn’t know who he was, or where he might be,

It would be a long drawn out investigation, they would have to wait and see.

Norah lay on the ambulance bed,

A hundred and one things going through her head.

When she was younger, she always wanted a child, but it wasn’t meant to be,

She saved for IVF it doesn’t come for free

Then a miracle happened after many tries,

All the hurt, all of the cries

She was pregnant at last; she was over the moon

She would be a mum sometime soon,

Just one baby, in fact there was two,

She knew she would cope, know what to do.

The twins were born early, perfect but small,

But one got ill and it looked like he might not make it after all.

There was nothing else to do they said, they had tried their best,

Her small family gathered round as they laid David to rest.

All Norah had saved was his tiny blue and white vest.

So, Peter was made to feel special every single day,

‘Norah thought he was perfect in every single way.

Norah was taken from the ambulance in the pouring rain,

Her head and hip hurting, she was in great pain.

But what had happened today she was not sure,

When the doctor knocked at the door,

He stood beside the bed and asked where she was most sore.

Norah said she had pain in her hip,

In fact, it was causing her jip.

He arranged for an Xray,

They could tell her hip was broken straight away.

Her head was all fuzzy, she was starting to cry,

Where was her little baby, did he really die?

She knew she would never go home again,

To be where it happened would cause unbearable pain.

She remembered his first day at school,

When David had broken every rule.

He had also pushed a button right up his nose,

Why he did it nobody knows.

Off to hospital he did go with his mum panicking in tow.

The nurse said to Peter, what did you do?

He said, “I thought keep it safe from people like you!”

Norah still had the button in a special tin,

With all kinds of precious memories, teeth and everything,

She could picture it now,

It was blue and had a picture of a cow.

She wished she could stop crying,

But it felt like she was dying.

A few weeks later, she buried her second son,

And his accomplice was still on the run.

As the coffin was lowered into the ground,

People weeping and crying, the only sound.

Norah could not forgive herself, where had she gone wrong,

She thought she had a nice son who was, healthy, big and strong

Norah sat waiting,  all she could do was stare,

Waiting for the nice lady to come and take her into care.

 

The care home was beautiful, with flowers everywhere.

It offered really good 24 hours care.

Norah had made lots of new friends,

And that is where her story ends.

 

The man sat on the plane. Off to sunny Spain.

Off he goes with the money in his sack,

And that criminal exile never ever came back.

Lisa