If only she could remember when ...

An old women on her knees
scrubbing floors and dreaming
remembering men
and being free
always fighting the good fight
in endless need to wield the sword
and a yearning in the ache of her bones
to change the world

If only she could remember when
this, the purpose of her life
with erudite rants against
capitalism, communism, chauvinism
and all the the other isms
until one day
she was just too old to care
only wanting to be warm
with old age her only company

If only she could remember when
she didn't hate the ache in her back
or the stiffness of fingers and knees
just to dance in the breeze
moving to a rhythm
of violent storms
or the magic of growing trees

If only she could remember when
there was such a thing
called love