The old woman sits on a bench before the door and quarrels…
““The old woman sits on a bench before the door and quarrels With her meagre pale demoralized daughter. Once when I passed I found her alone, laughing in the sun And saying that when she was first married She lived in the old farmhouse up Garapatas Canyon. (It is empty now, the roof has fallen But the log walls hang on the stone foundation; the redwoods Have all been cut down, the oaks are standing; The place is now more solitary than ever before.) "When I was nursing my second baby My husband found a day-old fawn hid in a fern-brake And brought it; I put its mouth to the breast Rather than let it starve, I had milk enough for three babies. Hey how it sucked, the little nuzzler, Digging its little hoofs like quills into my stomach. I had more joy from that than from the others." Her face is deformed with age, furrowed like a bad road With market-wagons, mean cares and decay. She is thrown up to the surface of things, a cell of dry skin Soon to be shed from the earth's old eye-brows, I see that once in her spring she lived in the streaming arteries, The stir of the world, the music of the mountain.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
An elderly woman reflects on loss, survival, and unexpected joy, using vivid rural imagery to explore resilience and the cycles of life.
In simple terms: Old age brings loss, but also hidden joy.
Key Takeaway
Find meaning in small miracles.
Themes
age
loss
resilience
nature
motherhood
Mood
reflective
somber
Type
narrative
lyiritual
When to use this quote
- caring for newborns
- reflecting on past homes
- dealing with decay
- finding joy in hardship
Key Concepts
existentialism
symbolic nature
maternal instinct
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the fawn symbolize for the narrator?
- How does the landscape mirror her inner state?
A Different Perspective
Life's hardships can eclipse moments of joy.