Reflection on Kate’s Poem, Essay Example

At first glance, the narrator in “Kate’s Poem” appears to be an elderly woman either in a nursing home or a hospice. This is because she says that she “dribbles her food” which indicates that she must be hand-fed and is unable to feed herself; and that the nurse in attendance always tells her to at least try to feed herself or to take a bath without having to be helped along. But most importantly, the narrator, a “crabbit old woman,” is attempting to tell the nurse or the observer (and perhaps the reader) that she is not what she appears to be, meaning that despite being an old woman who must have help with eating and taking a bath, she is a human being deep inside of herself with an identity and self-realization. Thus, the narrator tells the nurse to open her eyes and see the real person who simply sits and stares back at the nurse and moves when she is told.

This first part of the poem reminds me of my grandmother who was sent to a nursing home at the age of 90 because she could no longer take care of herself at home. I remember may times visiting the nursing home and seeing my grandmother sitting up in her bed and staring endlessly into the void as if her mind was completely gone. But in reality, she was fully aware of what was going on around her in the room.

According to the Family Resource Center for the state of Illinois, more than 5% of adults considered as seniors or over the age of 65 currently live in some type of long-term health care facility, such as a nursing home or senior citizen’s center with nurses in attendance around the clock. Also, at some point in their lives, more than one-third of all Americans will need nursing home care with the majority being women over the age of 80. Statistically, half of those entering a nursing home will remain there for the rest of their lives (Understanding the Transition to Life in a Nursing Home, 2015).

The narrator in this poem is obviously not in very good health, due to needing the assistance of a nurse for the simple things in life like eating, bathing, putting on clothes, and going to the bathroom. She admits this by stating that she is an “old woman now and nature is cruel” with a crumbling body and all of her vigor or strength gone. This reflects the fact that almost every person that ends up in a nursing home experiences the loss of their health, due to a condition or illness that has made it necessary for outside care and treatment that cannot be done at home.

As noted by the Family Resource Center, “Entering a nursing home means that the resident has a condition that signifies the loss of their good health” and which prevents the person from “being able to care for him/herself,” thus making the person dependent on others for some of their most basic needs (Understanding the Transition to Life in a Nursing Home, 2015).

In the second part of the poem, the narrator begins to reminisce about her past as if the nurse the can see what she is describing. She begins with her childhood and her parents, brothers, and sisters from long ago. She then remembers back to being a young girl on the threshold of marriage (“A bride soon, at twenty my heart gives a leap/Remembering the vows that I promised to keep”). She then recalls being twenty-five years old with children of her own who need a “secure happy home.”

This part of the poem clearly reflects the various roles that the narrator played when she was much younger. This is one area that life in a nursing home negatively affects, being the loss of status. Some of the roles includes being a mother and a wife which unfortunately disappear when a person enters a nursing home. According to the Family Resource Center, these and other roles “provided the person with fulfillment and recognition” and when lost “can greatly affect the way the resident views him/herself. The loss of these roles can have a negative affect on the resident’s self-image” (Understanding the Transition to Life in a Nursing Home, 2015).

The narrator in the poem then begins to reflect back on being forty years old and a grandmother with her children all grown up and out on their own as parents. She then relates that at the age of fifty that she has babies playing around her knees, an indication that she is sitting in a chair with her grandchildren playing at her feet. She then announces that her husband is dead (“Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead/I look at the future, I shudder with dread”).

These lines indicate that the narrator is suffering from depression and sadness. This type of experience is a normal part of life in a nursing home. For example, a person might “begin to sleep a lot more, refuse to participate in the activities related to their past interests. . . and openly express feelings of hopelessness.” Overall, the narrator is experiencing what psychologists refer to as regression or thinking back to earlier days when life was fulfilling and enjoyable and one’s health was abundant. This type of experience is completely normal and indicates that the person’s mind is still active and resilient.

The narrator then admits that a young girl still resides inside of her (“Inside this old carcass, a young girl still dwells”). At this point, the narrator has stopped reminiscing about her past and has come back into the present. But she realizes that the past is gone which forces her to think about her life today. But overall, the narrator only wants the nurse to see her as she really is instead of as an old woman who needs help with some of life’s necessities which she used to take care of herself. The basic theme of this poem seems to be based on the idea that people only see what they want to see and should look beyond themselves and stop seeing others as stereotypes. The soul of the old woman is truly alive; this is what she wants the nurse to see.

References

Family resource center: Understanding the transition to life in a nursing home. (2015). Retrieved from http://nursinghome.org/fam/fam_004.html