Our elderly neighbour passed away We went into her house, it looked so bare The only thing that remained of her Was a shawl draped over her chair I remember when she moved in In nineteen ninety five She told us she'd had three heart attacks And was lucky to be alive Everyday she’d come and ask If I’d go for her cigarettes Or go to the local betting shop And put on her horse-racing bets One day she asked me in And showed me a photo of her son Dave She said he had an unruly beard Because he was too lazy to shave She had shelves full of biscuit tins And said “"Biscuits are bad for your health" Then took the lid off one And said "“it’s where I keep my wealth"†There must have been at least a grand In used ten pound notes She peeled two off the wad And said “"Buy yourself a winter coatâ€" I refused the money To take it didn’t seem right She said “you need the money more than me, I've noticed your sad plight†I asked her what she meant And she said it was a scandal Me walking around with a tear in my sleeve I explained I’d caught it on a door handle She had an ornate mantelpiece With a China dog at either end I said “those are probably valuable†She said she'd been left them by a friend She had two porcelain orbs Hanging from her window sashes I commented that they were pretty She said they contained her late husband’s ashes I asked if he'd been her only one But she told me she'd had three A Butcher, a Tailor And the last one would go to sea She’d heard he’d had a girl in every port But hadn’t known if it was true Then letters from different women arrived She’d lost count at twenty-two I sat in awe of all her antiques She said she’d had a valuation An offer from a local dealer Had filled her with anticipation She unbuttoned her hand-knitted cardigan And reached into her blouse pocket She asked me to hold out my hand And she placed in it a locket The locket was adorned with filigree And was pretty beyond compare She told me it contained A lock of her late mother’s hair I said I couldn’t take it It must be of sentimental value She said "“Rather you than my son’s wife Cos I know what she’ll do. She’ll be straight round to the jewellers And see how much it’s worth. I can’t stand that woman Though my son thinks she's the salt of the earth. She's a right gold-digger With my boy just for his money When I try to warn my son He seems to think it’s funnyâ€" I tell her that it’s time I went And she says “You’d best go home, Nobody understands the loneliness When you live alone†I feel a pang of guilt But I can't stay there forever She says she'll go to bed when I’ve gone Because she’s not feeling too clever Later on that same day We all heard an almighty bang At her lounge window was an empty space Where her curtains used to hang My father broke down her front door She lay beneath a wood hall stand Lifeless and ashen, both eyes open A porcelain orb clasped in each hand Her son visited the following day And stripped the whole house bare No antiques left or money Just her shawl upon her chair