She lies in a hospital bed
Lightly sleeping
Pale fragile skin
White hair cut short

Hands speckled with age
Red bruises appear at random
Deep wrinkles map her face
Time has bent her small frame

All gone, the men that used her
She lives alone
Her mind wanders in and out
Not remembering why she is here

"Did I have a baby?" she asks
Then again "A heart attack?"
"No", to all questions I reply
"You fell and broke your hip."

"Oh", she replies and asks again
"Did I have a baby?"
Today she will be sent to
A place she's not been before

"I'm too young for a nursing home."
She has no choice.
No one to take care of her
Her future decided

She once had a life
Six children, five husbands
None now who care
She's too old

Her beauty has left her
Gone are the days
Flirting and dancing
Nicknames like "Candy".

The sweetness has soured
Memories gone
Locked away somewhere deep
Tears fill her aged eyes

"Did I have a baby?"