Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PIONEER, by RUTH COMFORT MITCHELL


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PIONEER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The very old woman sits softly
Last Line: She will fall softly asleep...
Alternate Author Name(s): Young, Sanborn, Mrs.
Subject(s): Old Age; Pioneers; Women


The very old woman sits softly
In the house of her great-granddaughter.
Things are soft in this place --
The Chinese rug, the cushion in her chair,
The film of precious lace
That covers her wisp of hair
And the silky shawl.

There is nothing to do.
Her small gnarled hands lie in her lap
All the day through.

(We dug, we lugged the water;
We cleared, we chopped, we burned;
Dawn to dark, there was work waiting
Any way we turned.)

There are soft-stepping servants within call
But she never needs to call.
Too many times a day
A soft-voiced nurse comes
Bringing soft food on a tray.
There is too much to eat,
Too much to wear:
They push buttons for light, for heat,
For a change of air:
They have conquered weather.

(Hard digging in the hard earth,
Hard years together;
Hard work, hard sleep, hard birth.
We were hard. How can it be
This softness springs
From you and me?

The wonder in her dim eyes is deep;
She gropes for the strain, the pang, the zest...
But presently her sharp chin
Will sink on her breast...
Soon, in a soft bed,
She will fall softly asleep...





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