Dunno if its been done here before, but it hit a nerve with me.

RESPECT.

DIGNITY.

EMPATHY.

LOOK beyond what you see….

An Old Lady’s Poem, Anonymous

When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Dundee, Scotland, it was felt that she had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through her meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Ireland. The old lady’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the North Ireland Association for Mental Health.

… And now this little old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this simple, yet eloquent, poem traveling the world by Internet. Goes to show that we all leave “SOME footprints in time”…..

An Old Lady’s Poem

What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
What are you thinking when you’re looking at me?
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway 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, resisting 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 do 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 guide and a secure happy home.
A woman of thirty, my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last.
At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man’s 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 rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old woman …and nature is cruel;
‘Tis jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles, grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I’m loving 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 crabby old woman; look closer …see ME!!

*********************

Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within …… We will one day be there, too!

Very powerful words. Makes up for a lot of the abusive crap that often appears on this forum.

It was originally ‘A Crabbit Old woman’, seems to have been edited for a more general audience.

…and not quite as it seems:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crabbit_Old_Woman

Doesn’t lessen the instructional value though.

good post, everybody should be made to read that

another old person tip – from my mum

“why is it that with all the labour saving devices people have nowdays that they have so little time for each other ?”

I have seen it too – on the walls of care of the elderly units as a wee reminder to the staff

I also like

Warning – When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people’s gardens

and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

i was at the supermarket and the bakers today. each time i went to pay there was some dodery old biddy infront of my faffing about with her coinage. i was getting a bit irate. surely you’re old enough to know that you need your purse, so get it out beforehand. you probably buy two rolls each day (apart from saturday when you buy four because the bakers isn’t open on sunday) so you know it is going to cost 1.10€. why wait for the kid to tell you?

or blokes who keep coins in a wallet. and then insist on giving the cashier the exact amount of change in 1 and 2 cent pieces. surely that is what your pockets and a money jar are for…

arrrghh

“why is it that with all the labour saving devices people have nowdays that they have so little time for each other ?”

i’ve often wondered that….. maybe it’s the old people in shops.

Well at least you can think of others alpin eh?

Old Ladys Poem…..excellent stuff and sadly true, amazes me how we all forget that older folk are just us a little further along the journey.

That is an excellent poem… Great post!

Hopefully make us a bit more patient with the older generation.

Nice post! I read it, then my 7 year old read it with me. At the end she looked ar me and asked “Dad, does that mean like don’t judge a book by the cover?”

💡 kids eh! Brought a tear to my eye.

Hmmm…

My 18 year old read it and said ‘Don’t you worry, the home you’re going in won’t have money to waste on paper or pens’

Kids, Eh?

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

This is me now and I’ve not even reached 40 yet!

Tis good.. see also the film Up. I know it’s a currently popular kids movie and its recommendation seems obvious but the first part is still a tremendously powerful bit of film. How you get from small boy to grumpy old git.