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The Woman Who Stood Still

There was a woman, middle aged, comfortably off, probably owned a cat
Often seen in the park, with a shopping bag and wearing a wide brimmed hat

One day she got bit melodramatic, fed up with it all, said it was making her ill
Stopped where she was despite her husband's pleas, and on the spot, she just stood still

Her husband begged on his knees for her to move, give life one more go
But she narrowed her eyes, looked from left to right, and firmly said, 'No!'

Her husband found comfort for himself and so she didn't get too lonely
He camped beside her with his sofabed and beer fridge that he'd often refill and then empty slowly

During summertime, the grass in the park, could grow above her head
And the local dogs would like to come and sniff and then wee against her legs

Housemartins nested beneath her hat's wide brim
And the spiders' webs hung like a goatie from her chin

Her husband slowly faded, but never left her till he died
She tried to move then but found she was stuck however hard she tried

So there she stayed as the world passed her by
Looking left and right and sometimes up at the sky

Till the city council needed to enlarge the town
And began the process to knock her down

All quangos, committees and general do-gooders
Concluded the museum was the best place for her

But a man in a tweed suit with a canny eye for conservation
Designated her in-situ preservation for the nation

Surrounded by a picket fence and neat green grass incase she'd ever fall
The preserved woman was given special status, a central part of the new shopping mall

On display, in her old age, she withered, wrinkled, dried out like a prune
Her eyes still looked about and you'd hear a 'No' round about noon

And she stood there air dried, mummified after death
As her leathered bits slowly fell of, leaving not much left

So the local MP stepped in and as his tribute to her stubborn fettle
Arranged for a famous sculptor to make a copy out of metal

Now-a-days if you chance to pass through the mall around Christmas time, at night
There's a metal woman who forever stood still, she lights up, says 'No'. and moves her narrowed eyes from left to right.