The absence of recognition stared blankly towards me
From eyes that once gleamed with pleasure whenever we met.
The movement of eyeballs showed nothing except the motion.
A faint smile twitched briefly across thin weather-beaten lips,
That once would have been a hearty laugh.
The bony fingers clutching mine,
showed signs of wear and tear.
The grip was strong and brought to mind, an infant clinging to its mom in fear.
No sound is heard as she speaks no more,
But lays and stares in oblivion’s trance.
Daily, weekly, monthly, and now it’s been years,
Watching her waste away slowly from reality.
It’s painful, confusing, and rough seeing her in this state,
But God knows best the reasons why
Such problems affect the human race.
He also knows best how much we can take,
And one day, we will have the answers
to all the questions, we are afraid to ask,
when from this earth we all have passed.
© Copyrighted 2019 by Derry M. Evans
Received ‘Literature of Achievement Award’ – Voices of Many Lands, N.Y. 1995
The above poem is an excerpt from my sister's book Yellow Elder. It was written in dedication to our mother, Mable Evans who suffered for many years with the awful, debilitating disease of Alzheimer's. Our mother went home to glory 19 years ago today and so this post is in memory of her.
The entire collection of poetry by Derry in her book, Yellow Elder is available on Amazon.com.