This Old Lady

Poem about an old lady.

This old lady stared at me
Her hair a greyish-blue,
Crow's feet danced around her eyes
Where once had been my youth.

She raised a hand to her throat
Deeply spotted now with age,
And emitted a low, hungry growl
I felt was filled with rage.

She fumbled with her pajama top
That held more wrinkles than her face.
It was extremely evident that this lady
Was not growing old with grace.

She pointed a crooked finger
Gnarled and bent with time.
Taunting and teasing me
With no reason or rhyme.

As I reached to smooth the hair
That had been tousled in my dreams
This old lady did just the same
Why'd she have to be so mean?

I began to scrutinize her every move
This old lady was just like me!
She had stolen my identity
Who else could she be?

This obviously broken mirror
mimicked her sadly shaking head
Reflecting on the past is Hell
Damn, I'm going back to bed!

Author's Note

Please given an overall review on this poem. Thank you!

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I liked the logic and the story in the poetry.
"I began to scrutinize her every move
This old lady was just like me!
She had stolen my identity
Who else could she be?"
Sometime the face in the mirror be our own? Thank you Melissa for sharing the excellent poetry,
Coyote

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Coyote Poetry! I am glad you enjoyed this. I wrote this a while back but I just turned 50 so it is more true than ever now. I appreciate your kind comments.

[Coyote Poetry]

I'm 58 now. Age comes very quickly and you are welcome.

[MelissaAndres]

Coyote Poetry, So true. Age has a way of sneaking up on us! As long as we remain kids are heart, who cares though, right? :)

[J. Swaney]

Honestly I'm not a fan of poetry. It's usually too vague and subject to interpretation. I was pleased to find this to be an exception. I'm fifty a recluse and grumpy, with that said I 'got' this and even chuckled. I would suggest reworking the title.

[annalysiar]

I like the layout great write as always

[alifeacoustic]

Ha, rough morning Melissa, or maybe a rougher night before? How cruel the mirror taunts us, especially in the early fog of waking. Luckily for me this isn't an issue. No, not because I am naturally stunning or wake up like I'm in a movie, just that I got rid of all the mirrors years ago and only slice my ear shaving very occasionally :)

[Mister T.]

Interesting, Melissa. As always, you've given me pause for thought. I love thought provoking pieces :)
You know, interesting fact - looking into a mirror or any reflection of yourself makes you look more handsome than 'you actually are'. This is not something I've just thought of myself, there's scientific evidence for it. The human eyes are very deceptive: they tend to do some minor editing to the picture we see in front of us. In short: we see what our eyes want us to see. For example, when looking into the dark, and you see a pile of clothes, your eyes manage to make you believe it's some kind of creepy monster or ghost, but in reality, it's just a pile of clothes. Why would there be a monster anyway? Because being afraid of the dark is natural, the dark should contain scary stuff, not a pile of clothes.
But, besides my enthousiasm about science, this was a very enjoyable read. Good job Melissa :)

[emmajoy]

Loved it all, laughed aloud at that last line... you write with amazing humour and of course, in this case, add quite a few salient nasties! Tuck in cheek horror stories really are your forte.. :)!

Hope you're back to better, bouncing health. x

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, emmajoy! I am glad you enjoyed this. I wrote this a while back but I just turned 50 on Sunday so it is more true than ever now! Haha! I am doing well, thank you!

[Rose Jaeger Kaneki]

this is amazing, love it.

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Shadowfax!

[Rose Jaeger Kaneki]

Welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wordman]

damn,i went back to bed too!

[MelissaAndres]

Hahahahaha!

[TL Boehm]

ok I chuckled a little but it was a nervous chuckle. I've seen that chick in my mirror too!

[MelissaAndres]

TL, I wrote this a while back but I just had a big birthday and this poem rings true now more than ever. I am glad you liked it.

[Gee]

Lol,my mirror adds an extra wrinkle each week.An amusing piece on ageing

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Gee. I'm glad you liked this. Wrinkles are here to stay for me, unfortunately!