The Ladies
By
Lisa A.Williams
They tell
of lifetimes spent
in small towns
when the world
was new to them
and grief and loss
were in their infancy,
as they raised
families
still keeping their
voices
in low whispers.
Time moved on,
some were separated
from parents while
still
in desperate need
of their guidance.
Husbands lost
to dying.
Their voices grew
louder,
stories I was eager
to hear,
in a small shop
where others “junk”
became someone elses“ treasure”.
In their company, me
at 50, still in their
eyes,
a “young” woman,
listened-
to how cancer reared
its ugly head,
time and time again
sometimes beaten,
sometimes the victor.
How a man forgot
his wife’s name
and whether he was
eating
cherries or grapes
as she wiped his
mouth,
like he was her
child.
Stories of loneliness,
in an
empty house,
making winters
colder than memory.
Most of all,
witnessing
the treasure of aging
with strength
and beauty
how nothing would
cause the laughter
to cease.
Joy was always
on the cusp,
the ladies-
wise enough to swoop
her up
at every chance.
