Old Woman at Red Light
Ancient old woman
Hair thin and gray
On her wrinkled head,
Sits confined to her wheelchair
At a red light.
The old woman wears a black sweater
She apparently knitted years ago
With her gnarled fingers and has a
Lap blanket across her knees.
Her care-giver, bored and uninterested,
Is an overweight woman who stands
Behind the chair just putting in her time.
She takes a deep drag on a cigarette
Dropping gray ash onto the
Shoulders of the ancient black sweater
Like so much dandruff.
The old woman stares at the light
Patiently waiting for it to turn green
So she can get back to the home
And brush off her shoulders.
Roy W. Backes
© 1996
Roy W. Backes - Poetry 