Mister Nobody (Poetry)

Once Mister Nobody lived in a flat
with no other person —
no dog and no cat
no one to bother him
no one to care
and no one to know even
that he was there.

It was said Mister Nobody
drank a good deal
until he was senseless —
could no longer feel
anything much — neither
lonely nor sad
and none of us guessed
what a life he had had.

When lone Mister Nobody
fell down and died
there was no one to miss him
no one who cried
for the man who was nameless
that none of us knew
and then strangers appeared
to pick over — sort through

and clear out his belongings
all tidied away
every scrap of him gone
on a hot sultry day
they loaded the van
removed every trace
now there’s nothing to say
he’d set foot in the place.

It’s too late now for kindness
it’s too late to care
Mister Nobody’s left us
and moved to nowhere
but whoever he was
the message is plain
he just needed somebody
but no body came.