She fought the cold as well as she could
as it crept into her apartment day after day.
Because she couldn’t afford the heating bills,
she wrapped herself up in layers of clothing
which worked until the temperature dropped
below zero degrees and she began to freeze.
An old woman with thinning skin and sick,
she succumbed to hypothermia at age 86.
Alone and unmonied, she died because of
poverty and a lack of family or any help.
I believe this condition is not uncommon
among the many poor and alone elderly.
Bob Boyd
