Sunday, June 23, 2013

The Ladies



 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.







18 comments:

  1. joy always on the cuffs...even in hardship...i would have been rapt...i love hearing peoples stories...what they choose to include...it tells you much of them...and there is power in our stories...like that you put it in a junk shop too...some peoples junk anothers treasure...works for people too...

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    1. Thank you, Brian. I have a great fondness for those ladies. They are a true inspiration.

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  2. Oh Lisa this is so beautiful and a bit heart-breaking as well. As a child I visited strangers regularly (weird but I did lol) and I met an older couples (80's or so) and the woman had had a number of strokes and could not speak or care for herself. The old man would sit with her the porch reading her favorites books out loud and he'd speak to her with such extraordinary tenderness/affection and treated her with such respect, that's when I became a romantic when I knew love was real and it could last! I also used to do aquarobics which was mostly elderly woman and they were such vivacious women so funny many of them had went through cancer and other tragedies and I remember thinking how strong and beautiful they were

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    1. Thank you. I too, used to visit strangers regularly as a child, always loved hearing their stories. I think the story of the older woman who had a stroke and her husband who was so tender with her as well as the women who had gone through cancer are subjects you could definitely write about, with your talented pen, they would be amazing poems.

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  3. The tragedy of life is never growing old but growing old broken because of some illness or the other. What a heartfelt write Lisa...

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    1. Very true. Let us never allow ourselves to be broken. Thanks so much for your comment.

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  4. An intelligent and confident lady shown here. One who feels so young to face the onslaught head-on. Great thoughts Lisa!

    Hank

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  5. Lisa, you have really given a wonderful picture of this scene...strong women discussing the worst things about aging, but still being able to laugh despite the difficulties. I think somehow we all have to find a way to somehow find some joy no matter what life brings us. But, as I see it, some things are ALMOST unbearable. We have no choice though but to plod on! Strong poem here. Slice of real life.

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    1. Thank you Mary. I agree, some things are almost unbearable.

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  6. Painfully beautiful.

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  7. Beautiful. I remember listening to just these stories when my Mom would gather with her friends. I miss her so...yet I'm thankful all that strength and wisdom.

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