One Plate

We have spoken and shared some stories of each other's lives. She is a beautiful woman of seventy-six, healthy, well attired; an avid reader, someone who belies her years. Sometimes in the evening supper hour I hear the sound of one plate and fork and it fills me with sadness, for I know this woman had another life filled with a husband; overflowing with children. She is well and blessed in many regards, yet the sound of the plate and fork with no conversation burdens my heart. This is how the majority of older women live their lives. Husband deceased, children with responsibilities of their own they punctuate her days with visits; to a woman who spent years of her life wishing for a moment to be alone; and now she is.

written by Pauline August, (c) for a neighbor