Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Meir Wieseltier

EXIT TO THE SEA

Once there  was a woman.
She was very old.
For seventy-five years
she’d lived in this world.

When she was seventy-six
she thought she’d had enough.
She threw herself into the sea
to drown in its troughs.

The sea is a billion years old
and doesn’t care about us.
It can drown old women daily
without any fuss.

But people were alarmed
and pulled her back to shore.
In the municipal hospital
she got the finest care.

Now she’s in a Home
where they keep the Elderly.
In vain she’d hoped to find
a way out in the sea.

EXIT TO THE SEA

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EXIT TO THE SEA

Once there  was a woman.
She was very old.
For seventy-five years
she’d lived in this world.

When she was seventy-six
she thought she’d had enough.
She threw herself into the sea
to drown in its troughs.

The sea is a billion years old
and doesn’t care about us.
It can drown old women daily
without any fuss.

But people were alarmed
and pulled her back to shore.
In the municipal hospital
she got the finest care.

Now she’s in a Home
where they keep the Elderly.
In vain she’d hoped to find
a way out in the sea.

EXIT TO THE SEA

Once there  was a woman.
She was very old.
For seventy-five years
she’d lived in this world.

When she was seventy-six
she thought she’d had enough.
She threw herself into the sea
to drown in its troughs.

The sea is a billion years old
and doesn’t care about us.
It can drown old women daily
without any fuss.

But people were alarmed
and pulled her back to shore.
In the municipal hospital
she got the finest care.

Now she’s in a Home
where they keep the Elderly.
In vain she’d hoped to find
a way out in the sea.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère