An old woman looks at me
Though she can barely see

She wanders into thoughts of her own
She sits on her chair all alone

Her wrinkled skin is a sign
Of the lost time on her life line

She needs someone to talk to
Her words of wisdom very few

But no one lends her an ear
Not even the ones who are dear

She cries over her weary state
And thinks about her children's fate

She raised them up with love and care
But now she only gets their stare

Her sparkling eyes want to say
She wants to live till her last day

She prays for the world to see
She wants their love not sympathy



The Story Behind

This poem describes a very common sight. I have seen it and so have all of you. The older people of our family. Our grandparents seldom experience what we say to be a blissful life at their age. At their age the only purpose of their life remains to continue living till their final breath. Their is no real ambition or enthusiasm left in them. They live on other's cost. For some members of the family they may also become irritating.

When a small baby in your house starts crying without purpose, you do get irritated. But that does not mean you ignore the baby. You try your best to make it happy again and satisfy its needs. Old age makes you a baby again. Of course they have loads of experience. But there is a possibility that your nature becomes child like. Like I said ignoring these people is not the solution. What they need is love and attention. An assurance that some one loves them and cares about them. I think out of our busy schedule, we can definately allot some some time to the older people. Old age is never an invitee for any normal person. But gradually, it has to come and it does come. It takes a lot away from you. These people feel that they have lost it. That's why they are sad and lonely. We should empathise with these people. We must remember what they face today; tomorrow we may have to suffer the same fate. It may not always be your grandparents.

Like in this poem, the poet sees an old woman sitting all alone. The old woman too looks at the poet. She can barely see anything. But her tearful eyes speak the truth. Her tired, weary body tells the poet all about her life and her experiences. So much that he can as well write a character sketch on her sad plight as she grows old with every passing day. She is nearing death. But even then the old woman has not lost her self respect. She still wants to mix up and talk to people. There is a great deal we can learn from her experience. She still wants to live a life that is worth it. She wants the world to know that the best way to pacify her is to shower her with love not sham sympathy. The poet here keeps that old woman(She/He could be anybody: any old person, even a begger or even your grand parents) in his mind and etches what is the common plight of all the old people in the world today.

I sincerely request you to love and care about the old people. One should be conscious of the fact that they love you a lot and have sacrificed a lot for you. It is up to the younger generation now. Those sacrifices should not go waste.