Willy Walloo

A poem dedicated to my uncle who passed away in 2001.

Willy Walloo

Did you ever meet Willy Walloo?

He was known to save a penny or two

Always in his pocket, small change you would hear

Away it would rattle but never appear

I asked him once, “Why do you do that?”

"Oh, to let them think that my wallet is fat"

Now I'm not trying to say that William was tight

But he had his old ways and believed he was right

"Why waste the heat?" a woolly hat he would wear

Spring, summer or fall, anytime of the year

And all Christmas Cards were returned whence they came

He crossed out, ‘To Willy’ and wrote in your name

There was a poem about Willy Walloo

Something about losing his shoe

But I know that not to be true

For he was the shrewdest man that I ever knew

Once he told us the story of a girl, he did date

Each time they went out she left food on her plate

On paying the bill he'd be slightly perplexed

But he had an idea and met her the week after next

The best cut of steak was her usual order

But he ordered nothing and just drank the tap water

And as he predicted not a morsel she ate

He said, "If you don't mind," and pulled over her plate

He enjoyed every mouthful until it was gone

Now she was perplexed and felt terribly wronged

And so, he was happy to pay the bill when it came

But as you can guess never saw her again

There was a poem about Willy Walloo

Something about losing his shoe

But I know that not to be true

For he was the shrewdest man that I ever knew

But oh, those frugal ways had their perks

More in your pocket meant less time at work

Less time at work meant more time each day

For ideas to make money far easier ways

Like I said a shrewd man indeed

We sat by the fire, his idea of TV

We'd watch those flames for hours on end

My dear Uncle Willy was to me a good friend

And so, a valuable lesson that money can't buy

Spend time with your loved ones, why not give it a try?

Oh yes, the best things in life are free

Except the coal on that fire? Nah, driftwood from the sea

There was a poem about Willy Walloo

Something about losing his shoe

But I know that not to be true

For he was the shrewdest man that I ever knew

Not your average miser and nobody’s fool

Yes, he did like a challenge and hated to lose

But there's more to Walloo than one ever knew

Yes, Willy tried to break a world record or two

The first was to go sixteen days without sleep

The second, placed in a coffin and lowered quite deep

But no record was broke, nor coffin for hire

Just lots of coffee and friends by the fire

When I asked, “How long was Willy awake?”

"Well, we all fell asleep so no one can say"

And so, after this story maybe it's true

That Willy Walloo really did lose his shoe

Painting and poem by Dolores M. Stephenson

© Dolores M. Stephenson