Copyright credit for the above picture life4na3

She shuffles to the entrance and then fumbles for a key
Its time to do her shopping for the week,
What happened to that teenage girl? It’s plain for all to see
Her youth long gone, her future now looks bleak.

Her children overseas have gone she rarely sees them now,
Her brothers, now deceased, a memory
A crinkled smile recalls them all, sweat on her furrowed brow
And worry lines entire world to see.

She counts her meagre dollars as she puts them in a purse
And steps out in the cold and foggy day
Then shuffles down the driveway, in her mind the paths rehearse
She hopes she won’t get lost along the way.

A neighbour shouts a greeting as she shuffles down the street
And tells her that she looks quite well today,
This woman knows he’s lying as she drags her weary feet
With eyes cast down she nods and turns away.

At the supermarket entrance she now pauses to survey
The current range of groceries priced high
And she lifts her head to heaven and surveys the skies of grey
Then enters in the doorway with a sigh!

The crowd in aisles inpatient bump this lady on her way
As she tries to hurry through with shaking hand
But she pauses in reflection to observe the children play
And in confusion finds it hard to stand.

Then a mother with a baby and a youngster by her side
Places arm around the woman in the aisle
Gently leads her to a sheltered place and tells her here abide,
Then collects the woman’s groceries with a smile.

She pays the woman’s grocery bill and shepherds her outside
And leads her ever gentle to her van,
Dragging also family groceries and youngsters by her side
Says will do it next week also if she can.

Old lady now quite lost for words delivered to her door
With shaking hand she offers what she had
She stuttered that ‘twas all she’d got, for she was very poor,
The mother smiled and said that she was glad

To help this aged woman she could see she was in need
It made her very happy to be there,
And her husband later, proud of her, with tender kiss agreed
They were blessed when wealth with others they did share.

“© Copyright Ian Grice 2011 All rights reserved”