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" On pillow after pillow lies
The wild white hair and staring eyes;
Jaws stand open; necks are stretched
With every tendon sharply sketched;
A bearded mouth talks silently
To someone no one else can see.

Sixty years ago they smiled
At lover, husband, first-born child.

Smiles are for youth. For old age come
Death's terror and delirium.

- Heads in the Women's Ward "

Philip Larkin , Collected Poems


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Philip Larkin quote : On pillow after pillow lies<br />The wild white hair and staring eyes;<br />Jaws stand open; necks are stretched<br />With every tendon sharply sketched;<br />A bearded mouth talks silently<br />To someone no one else can see.<br /><br />Sixty years ago they smiled<br />At lover, husband, first-born child.<br /><br />Smiles are for youth. For old age come<br />Death's terror and delirium.<br /><br />- <b>Heads in the Women's Ward</b>