Old Age

Grandma I watched you in those home videos. 

Your hair is still black, 

You move like a dancer, 

And your smile is quick to appear. 

Your jade and ivory bracelets look so wonderful

On your wrists.

I watch you now, 

Sorrow and fear in my eyes. 

For your back is hunched, 

Arthritis is in your knees, your hands, 

Your feet.

You ignore the Western doctor,

and turn to the East for guidance. 

I want to smack you

For your ignorance.

I don't think you know how much it scares me,

To see you like this.

I heard you fall once

And your scream of pain. 

I don't think my heart has stopped like that before. 

You don't wear those bracelets anymore, 

They wear you. 

But everyday you fix 

Three meals a day, like you did when I was little. 

God, I can't imagine the agony you go through, 

Day after day.

I look at you now,

And wonder about my fate.

I know I will be just like you.

Reviews

[bob, small b. aka invs]

unfortunately, i'm at your grandma's point in life. life is hard and painful much of the time. but in my head i'm still about 30 yrs old. so don't lose sight of the young dancer your grandma once was. inside the aging body, she's still there. it sucks growing old, but it beats the hell out of the alternative.