Kate, This is a Poem by an old woman in Hospital

I wanted to put this onsite as so few people will have seen it.

‘Kate’
Kate, the writer of this poem, was unable to speak, but was occasionally seen to write. After her death, her hospital locker was emptied and this poem was found.

What do you see nurses, What do you see?

Are you thinking, when you are looking at me



A crabbit old woman, not very wise,

Uncertain of habit, with far-away eyes,

Who dribbles her food, and makes no reply,

When you say in a loud voice, 'I do wish you'd try'

Who seems not to notice, the things that you do,

And forever is losing, a stocking or shoe,

Who unresisting or not, lets you do as you will

with bathing and feeding, the long day to fill,

Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?

Then open your eyes nurse, You're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am, as I sit here so still,

As I use at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten, with a father and mother,

Brothers and sisters who, love one another,

A young girl of sixteen, with wings on her feet,

Dreaming that soon now, a lover she'll meet:

A bride soon at twenty, my heart gives a leap,

Remembering the vows, that I promised to keep:

At twenty-five now, I have young of my own

Who need me to build, a secure happy home.

A young woman of thirty, my young now grow fast,

Bound to each other, with ties that should last:

At forty my young ones, now grown will soon be gone,

But my man stays beside me, to see I don't mourn:

At fifty once more, babies play round my knee,

Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,

I look at the future, I shudder with dread,

For my young are all busy, rearing young of their own,

And I think of the years, and the love I have known;

I'm an old woman now, and nature is cruel,

'T'is her jest to make, old age, look like a fool.

The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart,

There now is a stone, Where once I had a heart:

But inside this old carcase, a young girl still dwells,

And now and again, my battered heart swells,

I remember the joys, I remember the pain,

And I'm moving and living, life over again,

I think of the years, all too few - gone too fast,

And accept the stark fact, that nothing can last.

So open your eyes nurses, Open and see,

Not a crabbit old woman, look closer see ME



We all have mothers and fathers who will one day remember the past, the present and the future and then we will be that person. How true are the thoughts in this poem ?

How does it make you feel, once you've read it, let me know.