Old Woman 1999Sitting alone, upswept hairdo so white,
Spooning a latte and waiting for night,
Coffee house music plays softly behind,
Dim lights, and dark corners are so very kind.
But the dreamy look belies the calm -
Daughter/sister/grandma/mom—
The roles disguise just like the dark -
But if you look closely, there shines a small spark.
The secrets so hidden, the dreams unfulfilled,
The paths that weren’t taken, the fields that weren’t tilled,
A sleeper unwoken, her dreams are so drear,
On one wrinkled cheek there lies one small tear.
I watch from my table; she spills some of her drink
And flips me a smile and then the tiniest wink;
Does she see me, this woman I might have become?
Does she know me at all, does she understand some?
My own family didn’t, nor yet did my frie
