Get Your Premium Membership

The Widow

 I don't think men of eighty odd
 Should let a surgeon operate;
Better to pray for peace with God,
 And reconcile oneself to Fate:
At four-score years we really should
 Be quite prepared to go for good.
That's what I told my husband but He had a hearty lust for life, And so he let a surgeon cut Into his innards with a knife.
The sawbones swore: "The man's so fat His kidneys take some getting at.
" And then (according to a nurse), They heard him petulantly say: "Adipose tissue is curse: It's hard to pack them tripes away.
" At last he did; sewed up the skin, But left, some say, a swab within.
I do not doubt it could be so, For Lester did not long survive.
But for mishap, I think with woe My hubby might still be alive.
And while they praise the surgeon's skill, My home I've sold--to pay his bill.

Poem by Robert William Service
Biography | Poems | Best Poems | Short Poems | Quotes | Email Poem - The WidowEmail Poem | Create an image from this poem

Poems are below...



More Poems by Robert William Service

Comments, Analysis, and Meaning on The Widow

Provide your analysis, explanation, meaning, interpretation, and comments on the poem The Widow here.

Commenting turned off, sorry.


Book: Shattered Sighs