solitary days, each blurring
into the next in a relentless
procession, leaving her bewildered
and at sea.
She tried desperately
to grasp reality, but it drifted away
as a wisp of smoke from a
midnight campfire disappears
into the dark night.
Bit by bit the pieces of her self
fell away until every face was
new and unfamiliar, and she wandered
the halls of the place that kept her
safe, a little lost soul seeking some
elusive something.
One Spring night she simply slept
away to that better place where
he-who-had-gone-before waited with
open arms. She was, as are we all,
but a blip in the river of time, briefly
rippling its waters.
***
For those whose lives have ever been touched by that long goodbye called Alzheimer's.
Submitted for Poets United Poetry Pantry, February, 2017.
Bev, your poem evokes the sadness and loss so beautifully. You have captured the limbo in which loved ones live while waiting for the final goodbye.
ReplyDeleteSad and beautifully expressed, Bev. Dementia is a cruel disease.
ReplyDeleteSo sad, so beautiful, so true, so real...I love it.
ReplyDeleteThe most painful goodbye that you put into words so well.
ReplyDeleteI love your poem. It captures the stasis and loss of ageing so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThe last sentence......wow.....utterly breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteso very very sad.. and yes I do know this all too well. My mother is fading at the moment... so little left.
ReplyDeleteIt is so painful to lose them while they are still here. Having been there, I hurt for you.
DeleteSo beautiful:
ReplyDelete"One Spring night she simply slept
away to that better place where
he-who-had-gone-before waited with
open arms."
Alzheimer's is such a cruel disease. This was such a moving piece.
ReplyDeleteYou have described it so very well....poignant, true!
ReplyDeleteJust so sad... and the last line is true..we are all just briefly rippling the water, yet the cruelty of the disease is so vast.
ReplyDelete"a wisp of smoke from a
ReplyDeletemidnight campfire disappears
into the dark night." nothing describes an Alzheimer's patient better than these poignant lines...
"a wisp of smoke from a
ReplyDeletemidnight campfire disappears
into the dark night." nothing describes an Alzheimer's patient better than these poignant lines...
I know whereof you speak. A beautiful and tender poem.
ReplyDeleteThis is so touching..
ReplyDelete