Old Woman

The old woman is rattling the lock on our gate
Before she could come in and pound on the doors,
but with the lock she can't anymore

The old woman is rattling the lock on our gate
She is talking, shouting in her nightgown - half naked
She frightens me and I hide, so that I can't hear her cries

The old woman is rattling the lock on our gate
But I remember who she really is - my friend, babysitter
musty smelling, intelligent, kind
When did she leave herself behind?

The old woman is rattling the lock on our gate
Her cancer is spreading, taking over her soul
But why does she have to rattle it so?
I wish she would just let go
It must be terrible to do things and not know

Mary Lou Newmark © 1993