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05-01-2011, 10:51 AM
Supper man it was my pleasure.
Here is a poem written by an elderly lady who was believed to have altzeimers Kate [A poem about humanity] What do you see nurses What do you see? Are you thinking when you are looking at me A crabbit old woman not very wise, Uncertain of habit with far-away 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 unresisting or not 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 nurse You're not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still, As I use 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 young woman of thirty my young now grow fast, Bound to each other with ties that should last: At forty my young ones now grown will soon be gone, But my man stays 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 rearing young of their own, And I think of the years and the love I have known; I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel, 'I' is her jest to make old age look like a fool. The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart, There now is a stone Where once I had a heart: But inside this old carcase a young girl still dwells, And now and again my battered hearth swells, I remember the joys, I remember the pain, And I'm moving 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 nurses, Open and see, Not a crabbit old woman, look closer see ME Often sick and elderly patients can be treated badly by those who are supposed to care for them: Remember that no matter how old someone looks that inside them is still the child and young person whose life has been filled with many experiences. Look beyond what you See----- 
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05-01-2011, 10:56 AM
There's a poem by Jenny Joseph which makes me laugh, and I think we can all learn something from it.
So here it is: ***** When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells and run my stick along the public railings and make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain and pick the flowers in other people's gardens and learn to spit. You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat and eat three pounds of sausages at a go or only bread and pickles for a week and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes. But now we must have clothes that keep us dry and pay our rent and not swear in the street and set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
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05-01-2011, 11:23 AM
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And she thought of her life when she was child, young, middle aged, and old, and she though of her nurse, right? But I don't understand the detail, because poems or lyrics are very difficult for non-native English learners. But I understand that old and bed-resting person who doesn't seem to think anything actually thinks a lot of things just as young people.
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05-01-2011, 11:34 AM
I realize that you will not understand much of that poem, but it really is an example of an elderly person who may be regarded as pretty useless and helpless-- forgetting the kind of life and all the experiences they have been through.
Many have experienced so many changes through their life times, and the world also has changed so rapidly-- yet any individual has their own life time to look back upon. Often, their memories are all they have left. Many have been through wars-- poverty, Joy,laughter, old people have much to teach younger generations- but usually young people disregard them. When we are young we tend to think that we know everything. Studying history is an excellent way to learn from the past. All through our lives we make mistakes-- but the trick is, to learn from those mistakes. Life was truly hard in the old days.
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05-01-2011, 12:07 PM
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. When I'm an old woman, I shall behave strangely, like wearing purple clothes, red hat, which doesn't fit me. Because I might have dementia. Here "purple" is the color of noble person, or loyal person, yet, an ordinary people keep away from it because it is weird. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter. And I shall spend the whole my pension with luxurious things which should not be needed, and I shall be out of the necessary things. I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells and run my stick along the public railings and make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall ruin my good reputation when I am young, by the strange behaviors such as sitting on the pavement, gobbling up sample foods in shops, and pressing alarm bells.I don't know "run my stick along the public railings" part.I imagine that her stick is J-letter-type and she hang the curved portion of the stick and run along the public railing like a child play of rope-way.Am I correct? I shall go out in my slippers in the rain and pick the flowers in other people's gardens and learn to spit. All three behaviors are bad manners or even illegal. You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat and eat three pounds of sausages at a go or only bread and pickles for a week and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes. Here the writer use "you" instead of "I", but it means "I"I shall wear terrible shirts, become more fatty, eat an extraordinary amount of sausages for a challenge, or eat little food for a week.And I shall collect pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes like a child or like a bird/squirrel. The strange behavior which would be done by dementia patients. But now we must have clothes that keep us dry and pay our rent and not swear in the street and set a good example for the children. I don't know what "clothes that keep us dry" means."pay our rent and not swear in the street " might mean that "We should pay our room-rental fee and we should not declare that we'll do a homeless-life. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. Decent people usually call their friends to their dinner, and read newspapers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? Practice of dementia-life. So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. She will give her people the preliminary training of her becoming dementia. Am I correct, in understanding this poem?
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05-01-2011, 04:37 PM
that poem about wearing purple is funny because it represents Older people behaving disgracefully. wearing colours that clash. being outrageous. If you can't do your own thing when you are old-- when can you?
do not take it seriously-- we oldies can be outrageous if we want to be. It is not a crime not to care what others think of us. Basically-- We don't care. You are taking it literally when it is simply a poem about what someone would like to do once they are older. We rebel against conforming to the Norm. I had better not post anymore such poems because I guess they may confuse non- English readers. Nothing wrong with I then You and then WE. Firstly she was talking about herself-- then others-- then WE-- the readers who are getting close to old age. You might be surprised what older generation do and can do? Once retired they can try to pursue their dreams-do the things that were denied them until their retirement. Learning never stops no matter how old we might be.
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05-02-2011, 09:47 AM
It is just a poem Supperman-- about what she would Like to do when she is older.
Basically, rebel against the usual rules of life. A sort of fantasy-- we all like to fantasize or dream of what we would really love to do if we were not restricted by all the rules and regulations of good manners and behaviour. Teenagers and students often Try to rebel REEEEEEEEE Bel. Accent on the RE so it is REEBEL. In other words they are Rebels--ie:short "E" as in DEB, . Rebels like to REEbel. Lets put it this way: she no longer wishes to conform to the rules, but she knows that she will have to CONFORM.
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05-02-2011, 09:58 AM
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 And the headache afterwards is worth it.
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05-02-2011, 10:21 AM
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Impossible to get complete freedom like "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", but to dream of what we really love to do Impossible to become a REEEBel leader like Luke Skywalker, but to believe "may the force be with us always". Impossible to do positive-thinking, but wishful-thinking Impossible to stop 911 but cry Impossible to stop 311 but cry Impossible to know what will happen in this world, after Osama bin Ladin is killed Impossible to know what will happen tomorrow But have to go on my own destiny (This is just a poem, my poor poem.)
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