Crabbit Old Woman

What do you see nurses? What do you see?

What 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 this what you're thinking? Is this 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 5

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

'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.

The body it crumbles, grace and vigor depart,

There now is 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 crabbit old woman,

look closer

see

ME

~

Author's Note

It's pretty clear words are not mine. I just can't help admiring this true humble poem, and I wanted to share this so much.

There are lots of legends about the origin of the poem. One said it's written by an old man, then later found by nurses when he died (It's entitled Crankly Old Man then, but almost the same). Another said it's written by a nurse for his patient. In 1998, an article said the origin of the poem was written by an old woman originally and the Cranky Old Man was adapted from this poem.

It's hard to trace the real origin of this poem, and I think versions of this are passed and some words may have been altered. But however the real author was, this poem is definitely epic!

This is said to be the original version from the old woman..

A humble salute to whoever wrote this piece... 'tis a great reminder that people may age, but at heart they're still young and fragile. As said, nothing can last.. we will all come to our dawn. All we can do is hope that when that time comes, life won't be cruel.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Honest, wonderful and wonderful poetry shared dear poet.
"So open your eyes nurses, open and see,

Not a crabbit old woman,

look closer

see

ME"
I love the above lines. You are right. Love accept the people we loved. We love them in the good days or bad. Thank you for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[Lorry]

Well whoever wrote it, deserves to be found and recognised. The only thing I know, is that the word crabbit is Scots Gaelic and I can only think it must have been someone from Scotland that wrote it, or perhaps heard it from a Scot.
It is as refreshing now as it must have been back then to read. It still holds true, maybe we should spend more time looking and less time judging people.
Thanks for sharing.

[Belle]

Thank you for sharing this. Such a moving piece.

[SimpleMind]

My pleasure Belle.. I find this poem a waste not to share to everybody.. it's full of emotion and truthfulness

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A highly descriptive and intimate piece, well one, good read.

[SimpleMind]

Cheers to the great mind who wrote this piece :)

[Moniba]

Thank you so much for sharing!!

[SimpleMind]

:) . . . wc!

[kublakhan27]

Thank you for sharing such a moving piece of introspection :)

[SimpleMind]

Not a problem :)

[Glen Yumang Manese]

Just the way the reflections go back in time ---
when all was youthful and lively...
and now just waiting for the passing...
I see this is not yours...but thanks for sharing...
a delightful read ---
filled with wisdom and thoughtful memories...

[SimpleMind]

I'm glad you like it too :)