Elderly Women

What do we think when we see
When we see an elderly woman
Dressed in clothes that have had
Many years of use.
Clothes that can be too loose,
Maybe reminiscent of a
Younger, fuller body.
Clothes that may not be adequate
For the weather.
A bitter expression on her face.
Do we see the inadequate clothing
An indication of a meager income
From Social Security
Now being threatened with Extinction?
Social Security she struggled for valiantly in her youth?
Do we see the bitter face
A message of pain and disappointment
A lifetime struggling to survive
Ending in subsistence?
Or do we see her at all?

_{January 2008}