Metal cage

A small piece of shriveled grace

A flap of hanging skin her face

A  skein of tightly pulled gray hair

Deep wrinkles dug and piled high

Leather traveling bags under each eye 

Shoulders a clothes hanger 

on which hung a thread bear sweater with a hole

Revealing a worn, equally thread bear body

Her hands, more bones than flesh 

painted with blue bulging lines

Rusted voice, thin worn with age

 A noble spirit shuffles within a metal cage

Reviews

[Jeyanthi]

As turning they even stop looking at how they even look like.... we must not anything for granted especially our body when we are young....
The deep... rusted voice says they quit lost the interaction... the soul can prevail if our body is still as metal cage...

[Arundass TP]

A strong description of old age. Strong poem. Loved it

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

this unflinching look at old age was distressing. while poets often make aging sound like a beautiful or natural thing, there is a lot of hardship that goes with a weaker, frailer body. that was so with my relatives and it is hard to imagine that they were once young like us. but the final line redeems our hope. even when we are old, we are still in the posession of a noble spirit. within a metal cage, but we must serve our sentence 'til the end before we are set free.

[Chris Shaw]

This reminds me of the poor souls I see each week when I visit my aunt in a residential home for people with dementia. They are in a cage with no release. Most of them have no visitors. I make a point of talking to them. Some just want a hug. Touching piece which has other interpretations. All equally sad.
Nicely composed Soren. Great description.

Chris

[Soren]

Thank you, Chris for the read for the touching and insightful comments. They are appreciated.