What do you see, nurse - what do you see?
What are you thinking when you look at me -
A crabbed old woman, not very wise
Uncertain of habit with far-away eyes,
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply
"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 resisting 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 move at your bidding, eat at your will.
I’m a small child of six with a father and mother
In a close knit family who love one another.
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon a lover she’ll meet.
A bride soon at twenty - my heart gives a leap
Remembering the vows I promised to keep.
At twenty-five now I have young of my own
Who need me to build a secure happy home.
Into my thirties, time, where does it go?
My mischievous, fun-loving boys, how they grow!
At forty-six, my young sons have grown up and gone,
But my man’s beside me to see I don’t mourn.
Along in my fifties grandbabies we see,
How we treasure their visits, my husband 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 rearing young of their own,
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 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
And 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, nurse, open and see
Not a crabbed old woman, look closer - SEE ME!!!