**** ETNI on the web http://www.etni.org.il http://www.etni.org **** Sharon, Was this the poem you were looking for? Look Closer by Phyllis McCormack What do you see? What do you see? Are you thinking when you're looking at me, A crabbit old woman, not very wise, Uncertain of habit with faraway eyes; Who dribbles her food and makes no reply When you say in a loud voice, "I do wish you'd try." Who seems not to notice the things that you do, And forever is losing a stocking or shoe; Who quite unresisting, lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill; Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see? Then open your eyes, you're not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still; As I move at your bidding, as I eat at your will. I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother, Brothers and sisters who love one another; A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet, Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet. A bride soon at twenty, my heart gives a leap, Remembering the vows that I promised to keep; At twenty-five now I have young of my own Who need me to build a secure, happy home; A woman of thirty, my young now grown fast, Bound to each other with ties that should last; At forty, my young sons will soon all be gone, But my man is beside me to see I don't mourn; At fifty , once more babies play round my knee, Again we know children, my loved one and me; Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead, I look at the future, I shudder with dread; For my young are all busy with young of their own And I think of the years and the love that I've known; I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel, 'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool; The body it crumbles, grace and vigor depart, There is now a stone where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells, And now and again my battered heart swells, I remember the joys, I remember the pain, I'm loving and living life over again; I think of the years all too few, gone too fast And accept the stark fact that nothing can last. So open your eyes, open and see Not a crabbit old woman, look closer ? SEE ME. Best wishes, Judi Granit ##### To send a message to the ETNI list email: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ##### ##### Send queries and questions to: ask@xxxxxxxx #####