Read the passage.


To Waken an Old Lady

by William Carlos Williams


Old age is

a flight of small

cheeping birds

skimming

bare trees

above a snow glaze.

Gaining and failing

they are buffeted

by a dark wind —

But what?

On harsh weedstalks

the flock has rested,

the snow

is covered with broken

seedhusks

and the wind tempered

by a shrill

piping of plenty.


What clues do these supporting details provide about the poem’s main idea?



Young birds need protection from bad weather.



Elderly people have the ability to overcome the difficulties of old age.



Snowy and windy weather is awful.



Life is lonely and difficult for elderly people.