What You Can't See

[Minxie]

Somebody sent me this as an e-mail today, and I thought it was quite nice so would pass it on.

 

 

WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE

 

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, as the nurses were going through her meagre 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. A slide presentation has also been made based on her simple, but eloquent, poem. And this little old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this "anonymous" poem winging across the Internet

 

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, people, 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!

[monkey_magic]

[Minnie]

"I think of the years...all too few, gone too fast,

And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people, open and see,

Not a crabby old woman; look closer...see ME!!"

 

No, I've shut my eyes and reopened them many times now and all I can see is a crabby old woman!

[ans]

All I see is a small, dried up husk of a woman with translucent skin is so thin you can see her last heartbeat work its way down her blue veins.

[Cret]

Bit daft then that her point was that she wanted people to realise she was still vibrant with life inside, but didn't bother actually showing the message to anyone to get the point across.

 

I like oldtimers generally, as long as they're not too whiffy. I can't wait to be an old git like Statler & Waldorf from the muppets, a real cantankerous old swine. That, and to be able to sit out on a porch drinking beer, & watching the sun go down with my chums alongside in their rocking chairs also. And possibly a dog too maybe, like, a bloodhound or something.

[Minnie]

Some old people p*ss me off actually, especially the ones who think it's ok to jump queues just because they're old.

[Cret]

Well of course. Some people out of most age groups are likely to xxxx you off.

 

That said I intend to be like that when I'm old. After all, you have to have some fun, and help yourself to 'privileges' to make up for all the bad old age stuff.

 

That said, I'm hella proud of my gran. She's 93 and has so far been away on a different holiday every month since April so far this year. Got her driving license renewed a bit ago for another 3 years and is sharper, funnier, more life savvy and wise than anyone else I know. She's ace.

 

And she'd well kick supergran's ass in a fight too!

[Dave the Cardboard Box]

And they are the generation which went through the War, either enduring the hardships at home or actually fighting in it, for our futures.

 

They have stories to tell and images in their heads which most of us can only imagine.

 

They endured the hardships of those times as young people, they brought us up through the post-war austerity, and then lived in fear of the H-bomb and the oppression the Cold War gave us.

 

When they finally have peace, reasonable prosperity, even possessions, their bodies decay and let them down -

 

But they have still experienced more lows and highs than any of you have done and deserve respect for that.

 

I think they should be as bloody minded as possible and jump as many queues as possible.

 

In fact, why the xxxx should they have to queue at all?

[Minnie]

In fact, why the xxxx should they have to queue at all?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because everybody else has to.

 

And they are the generation which went through the War, either enduring the hardships at home or actually fighting in it, for our futures.

 

They have stories to tell and images in their heads which most of us can only imagine.

 

They endured the hardships of those times as young people, they brought us up through the post-war austerity, and then lived in fear of the H-bomb and the oppression the Cold War gave us.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What excuse will you use to jump queues when you're an OAP?

[Dave the Cardboard Box]

I'm in a year long queue now - but I won't try to jump the queue, or go private, to the detriment of someone older and more needy.

 

When my turn comes to be old, I hope I get the respect I deserve for what I have done over the years. I hope everyone does.

 

There should be no queues for over-sixties, just an all in mass brawl to get to the front. Sticks allowed.

 

 

I liked the MM Crab though.

[purrrrrrrrrrry]

Have seen this loads of times Minxie - the credits vary but the poem is largely the same.

 

There is also a nurses version, which could usefully be nailed to the foreheads of administrators.

 

Kidding.

 

(Sellotape would suffice )

[Lucy]

When my turn comes to be old

 

I've stopped laughing now so I can type what dya mean "when".

[the_kitty]

I read this poem in school..........its so sad

[Jay]

Some old people p*ss me off actually, especially the ones who think it's ok to jump queues just because they're old.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Remember that one day Minnie my dear,

You'll have a stick in your hand and an aid in your ear,

A shuffling gait, a faultering voice,

Wear incontinence pads, ('cos you won't have a choice)

 

You'll be a wrinkly old biddy, unable to poop,

A sad faced old boiler, your 'bits' will all droop,

But don't worry too much, dry up those tears,

'Cos it aint gonna happen for quite a few years.

 

But when the day dawns, you'll shout for attention,

From the man at the counter, for your old age pension,

Swollen ankles, ill fitting shoes,

Arthritic knees, and a very short fuse,

 

Now, incontinence knickers are prone to leak,

Big trouble now 'cos your bladder is weak,

So take heed Young Minnie and remember this,

We all get old, so don't take the p iss!

 

A grumpy old hag, stooped and derepit,

Ancient you'll be, and don't you forget it!

 

©jay2004

[Tee]

Why should they queue they could be dead before they got to the front!!!! heh