Nancy

She sits in her lonely house

filled with cobwebs and dust

in places she can no longer

reach and clean so easily.

The interior and exterior

of her home is

shabby and tired looking.

Also is she, with thinning white hair,

wrinkles on her pale skin.
And underweight figure.

Her glasses just perched

on the tip of her nose.

And her fragile hands

are always feeling cold.

She is layered with clothing.
To try to keep warm.
As she cannot afford

the heating of her home.

Let alone three square meals

a day or the upkeep of her

once very proud home she lives in.

Her husband of 50years died 10 years back.

And since then she has turned into

basically a recluse and rarely if ever

leaves her home.

And if she does it's only to get the basics food,

pay bills and straight home again.

She has no kids, or relatives left living.

She is alone in a lonely world is Nancy.

Reviews

[Simbles]

this is so very sad :(

[Einstein Noodle]

yes .. sad indeed ... the cold hands and bundled frail body are so relateable to all who are putting on the years ;}
V2 wet my reading appetite to see her home used to personify Nancy a bit more .. my imagination went off ... creaking boards, rooms never used anymore .. shut off ... well worn paths into carpets and wood .. etc. it inspires me ;)
i get the sense that this is someone you know Dawn ... you paint her so well ... so many elderly ... shut in...without anyone checking in on them ... slowly drifting and quietly gone one day :(((( poignant emotive for me ... we had a young man come to our home to check on our Dish equipment ... we was very well spoken and seemed quite intelligent ... we had a chance to talk a bit and he shared some of his feelings and ideas about America ... they were all so strange to me ... he was trained by Dish (6 weeks) had no college .. so i was and am baffled as to where his ideas came from ... i felt very irrelevant ... my generation's world has and is passing on it seems ... and here we are ...sitting among the dust and cobwebs ... very emotive write says i .. feeling the sadness and isolation in your "Nancy"
E.

[Neville]

This is very sad.. it is also a compelling read... glad I found it while having a mooch around and a clear out

[Dave]

What a heart rending story. One can't help but to wish they could do something, anything, to give this poor soul some solace. I would wish that Nancy is just some character of your imagination, but I feel that I am mistaken.

Take care - Dave

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I wish William Faulkner could read this...parallels his short story "A Rose for Emily"--
he would appreciate this poem which is really well done.
so many of us can relate to the aging, the feeling of starting to gather dust.
j.

[Samuel Dickens]

Nancy's story is very sad, but not uncommon. My heart breaks for her and unknown multitudes like her. Often times, perhaps most of the time, there are children, grandchildren or other family members who could visit and help out. Your poem is sensitive and so true.

[Onlyme]

Thank you Samuel for your thoughtful and very kind thoughts. Dawn