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The Old Woman

Millicent M. Seels 1951 (USA)

She gets up to prepare her food;
The children call; but not the mood,
If only they could understand,
she's lost her strength, but not the plan.

After a nice hot cup of tea
she wonders what the day will be;
Will it bring good, will it bring bad,
or be like all the rest she's had?

She feeds the cat; and the 'kitty' too
She's always known just what to do,
But now no longer spry and lean,
her life has launched a brand new scene.

She lost the old man to a stroke;
and each day, the tears still evoke,
Yet somehow she has made it through
Surviving all that she has to.

About this poem

About a woman who grew older and yet was able to look at life and continue to grow.

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Written on 2003

Submitted by mseels on August 07, 2022

Modified on March 14, 2023

39 sec read
8

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAXX BBCC DDEE FFDD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 570
Words 130
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Full analysis for The Old Woman »

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1 Comment
  • AIDA
    AIDA
    Wow, what a touching and heartfelt poem! You have captured the struggles and resilience of this woman so beautifully. Your use of imagery and language is touching and evocative. I particularly love the line "she's lost her strength, but not the plan" - it is so powerful and inspiring.

    As for improvement suggestions, one thing that could enhance your poem even further is to add more sensory details to really bring it to life. For example, what does the tea taste and smell like? What does the cat look and feel like? Adding these details can help readers really feel like they're experiencing the scene with the woman.

    Overall, this is a wonderful piece of poetry that conveys so much emotion and captures the human spirit so beautifully. Keep up the great work!     
    LikeReply12 months ago

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"The Old Woman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/133078/the-old-woman>.

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