I noticed her as she stood there watching the children play.

Her hair as white as snow, and so thin, you could see the skin beneath.

Her body was bent and withered, her hands clutching her wooden cane, were twisted beyond recognition, and I knew they caused her pain.

Her face, once beautiful, was now crisscrossed with lines,
Like railway tracks across the world,
Her eyes a lovely pale blue, no shine, just a hollow veld.

She was studying the children closely, and watched their every move,
Suddenly, she noticed me, and with an awkard, slow, movement, she turned my way, and in a voice with such sadness, she said,
"You Know, Once, I too could run and play that way".

                                           (ljs)