An Old Womans Trouble Poem by Kirsty Payne

I stand alone at the window,
Staring at what had once been an empty field.
Now it was being ruined,
Being built upon for houses,
I may be old but I can remember playing on that field,
When I was a little girl of 4,
But now I am 84,
Nobody is here with me.
No family, no friends.
They find life easier than me.
Got the letter through the door,
Moved out at once,
But I can't leave here, no way can I.
Why should I?
This is my house mine!
When I walk down the street,
The children laugh.
All the parents can say is let the old biddy passed.
I'm shown no respect,
Not like back in my day.
Back then clouds were not so grey,
And children could play in the fields all day,
But now it's not all that.
It's all lads in black hats, hitting spitting and picking on cats.
Nothing ever bothers them when it isn't the kids,
It's the council.
Nothing important only another bill,
How would they feel?
I'm only 84 now they want to put me in care.
It's not my fault.
It was that broken stair.
There was a fire last night,
But no one called to see if I was alright.
The children they yell not talk.
They don't have respect.
All they have they take for granted.
They don't know the half of it,
And neither do you!
You don't know how I feel,
Don't put words in my mouth.
It's not worth the trouble,
Just trust me on this one,
And when I walked round the town all the people did was frown.
Did they hate me that much?
Did they want me to drown?
In my own tears of sadness there was a tear of gladness,
As I sat all alone and wept,
Gently away I was swept,
Gently I slept.


This was written in 2008 as part of my coursework.