A Change of Heart

A man named Ebenezer Scrooge¹
was very old and very tight;
he had a long and wizened² face
that saw the day but not the light.

Upon the undulating³ hills
of England’s quaint old countryside,
the way he acted all his life
soon found there was no place to hide.

This Scrooge was such a sordid⁴ man,
beset⁵ with selfish, mean intent;
and even during Christmas time
he would not part with one red cent.

There was no give in Mister Scrooge,
his dearth⁶ of decency prevailed;
and even with the social norms
his simple ship had up and sailed.

For Ebenezer was so lax⁷
in the social amenities;
he just would not requite⁸ a nod
or utter out a humble please.

So Ebenezer Scrooge was like
the veil of night that has no part;
but he would go to sleep one night
and wake up with a change of heart.

Three Christmas spirits came to him--
past and present and yet to come;
with visions did they relegate⁹
for him to view a wide spectrum.

Those visions were a wake-up call
as they cut sharply like a knife;
for once he took a pensive¹⁰ look
into his heart and at his life.

Thus Scrooge became a different man
and kept his feelings in plain sight;
he wore emotion on his sleeve,
where even maudlin¹¹ was all right.


[Rhythm: 8] (Lines: 36) (Words: 229)
“Hawk’s Vocabulary Contest”; August, 2011
All 10 words used.

________________

Notes:

¹ Ebenezer Scrooge is the principle character in Charles Dickens’s novel,
A Christmas Carol.
² Ebenezer is old, and is thus wrinkled and shriveled (wizened) with age.
³ The location is the wavy, rolling (undulating) hills of England.
⁴ Ebenezer is meanly selfish and self-seeking (sordid).
^5,6 He is troubled persistently (beset) with a lack (dearth) of decency.
^7,8 Scrooge doesn’t have any Christmas spirit (Bah! Humbug!). Thus, if
someone says, “Merry Christmas,” he will not return (requite) the
greeting, because he is careless and negligent (lax) in social amenities.
⁹ However, during a dream, three Christmas spirits consign (relegate)
visions of the past, the present, and the future to Ebenezer.
¹⁰ Because of this, Ebenezer has a wistfully thoughtful (pensive) look
into his own heart, becoming a completely different person.
¹¹ Where he was once a mean old curmudgeon, he now is even
sentimental and tearfully emotional (maudlin) at times.