forgetfulness stares
from a floral night gown
and further down the corridor
a child laughs –
she plays with someone
else’s grandmother
whose eyes are still full
of remembrance
Author notes
about alzheimer's disease
In a list
A contest entry
- Pimp up my quickies or snippets by leander.
400 points, ended December 4, 2007, 37 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 42 of 42
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My mother can't remember which day was yesterday, nor what she did then. But she remembers everything of all her children's childhood.
Very touching poem Nic.
Yes, you touch minds with your words
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Dankie, Marie... jaa that's how alzheimer and dementia is... the loss of short-term memory...
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Their world can be both confusing and frightening yet
you present such a poignant picture showing the gentler side of a day, with such realistic contrast.
Congratulations on the trophy.
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Awesome...so much said in so few words...
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Awww... So sad. My great grandmother suffers from dementia so I could really relate. It's so true and I liked the way you worded it. ^.^
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Tearfulness wells suddenly. A brazen thief, dementia. I've played with this child before. I've such a lump in my throat reading this one, Dear Heart! ~ Karen
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Dear Karen... thank you so much my friend
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This is different from your usual writes. But it still has the same kind of tenderness embedded through it. A very poignant and touching write Nic. Congratulations!
Hugs, Rhona
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I can't believe I didn't catch this one between the new writes
What a beautiful elegance you have provided again with your words my friend... truly a great poem! -
This one breaks something inside of me . . . it touches the human place that cannot hide, but only trembles in a vibration of truthful purity.
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Im commenting a lot .
Good poem. -
Ohh, this one hits home .... it stings ...
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awww, i don't have any of my grandmothers anymore
But this poem was soo well written. great!
xo
kandy
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this is such a hard thing to write about, at least in my opinion...
beautifully well written!
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Wow! I took a deep breath and had a total pause after reading this. I miss my Grandmother.
Nic, this is really wonderful. a succinct craft.
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cryptic but mysterious and strangely charming poem.I enjoyed the brevity and the desription of this mystical game.in other words i liked it so much!
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wow so many comments
I am struck by that in itself, shows how many of us are touched one way or another by this disease,
your concise snippet tells alot
and touches the heart
my mother, had dementia, for years,
the eyes, I often wrote about it as a way to get through those years,
the eyes like fog lights searching for the shore of her memory,
something solid to land on,
sometimes that was me,
I was grateful she seemed to know I was a familiar, but just not who
exactly,
this has the sweet sad edge of the girl playing with another
who has memory
such a gift memory is, in the face of someone without it,
kat
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this piece is unexpected from you-
and lovely in a way different from your normal lovely-
it bites a bit
on the backside and makes one
teeter into a scene like
a spectator nearly falling in-
perfect painting
we will have to be sure and direct rebeka here when she returns..
m
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this is haunting
funny how important memory is when it's not within reach
and there are still days that i wish i didn't remember some things. i suppose i should be grateful for what i do remember, if it was gone, i'd miss it without even realizing what it was i was missing.
well portrayed image here.
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saddening and truthfully worded... a poignant telling
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I just see there's more new stuff than the one I saw on front page this morning. Can't believe I missed this one
A very beautiful (and I fall into repetition) poem you've crafted my friend, with amazing imagery, a nice touch of detail with the alliteration and a lot of meaning behind the words.
Love it, simply love it!
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"whose eyes are still full
of remembrance"
Sighhh...Such a sorrowful treasure, my Friend. My grandmother thought I was my mother, when she was younger. I didn't mind, since she thought of me with love. Good luck in the contest, Sweetie. Vlindertjie
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within such a sad disease there is great humor
my grand dad on my ex's side used to put his shaving cream on the top of his head and sing dirty limmericks whenever he saw us... he had us laughing just about the whole time and the best fun was decorating his walker for the holidays...
i do miss him
this was lovely within the hard part of alzheimers...
reminds me... while i was at work one day, I got a call of a stolen vehicle. While interviewing the reporter it was obvious he was suffering from this disease. The doctors office that he was in front of was his doctor from twenty years ago and i was able to find a bus pass with the mans name and date of birth. When i ran him it was discovered he has been missing for 2 weeks. He had no shoes left and his feet were severely blistered from the july heated pavement, he was severely dehydrated and just awful looking like one of our local homeless.
after taking him to the hospital and contacting the home that reported him missing... i found out that he was one of the county commissioners at one time and a well known person of miami politics...
was very sad to see him in that condition... and it is so hard on the families involved truely.
your poem is truth within a poets pen
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Thank you, Heidi. I just told someone else how astrounding it is how many people's lives are or were touched by this disease. Thank you for sharing those amazing stories
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This is such a poignant write...for such a devastating and sad disease...My grandmother was placed on an alzheimers floor prior to her death last year. It was amazing the life that came back into their eyes (at least those who were in earlier stages of the disease) when they saw my daughter (who was only four, at the time). They would come over and talk to her, would call her by one of their grandchildren's name, or just call her 'little girl'. It was heartbreaking, really, and yet I knew it made their day.
Excellent penning. I love this one!
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It's quite astounding how many people's lives are touched by this disease - thank you, Jersene
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Alzheimer's is such a horrific illness! This was a profound write and although sadness grabbed hold of me within the lines, the message was clear throughout. Excellent work! Excellent!!!!
~Tia
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Such a heartbreaking disease, my mother-in-law is suffering from it, I miss the light in her eyes.
Thanks my friend for sharing this.
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Yes, I remember about your mother-in-law.... thank you, Kathleen
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My father had alzheimer's disease, and I can relate very well to this poem. He died 13 days after my mother. After a long silence, he called my mother's name during the time of her funeral - he could not attend. There were married 52 years! Your poem is as it says, but I know, there were 81 years memories locked within. Beautiful and sensitive write. Glad I read this. Frans
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That is a wonderful story, Frans. Yes, the memories locked within... and so sad when they can't articulate it. Thank you so much - also for sharing what is so precious to you.
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A haunting image of need for love and family...we find our kindred sigh in the strangest places...lovely poetry...
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ahh but in beauty we forget how it transfixes on our minds like a melody once played
I once nursed a woman who was as a batty as hat-rack.. but the moment a child or baby visited the nursing home, she became almost normal and was the delightful animated woman.. as soon as the visitors left, she was back to being batty old winnie... so yes..
time does play tricks with us, but it is still there with subtle scents of photographs inside
see, look what you did with such few words
tis beautiful Nicci
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Yes, I think they can perhaps still think it, but are unable to voice it... thank you, my friend. This is so in line with the work you do - I try to stay away from old age homes as much as possible....because of those "empty eyes and mouths"
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I could tell what it was about. This poem is so touching, sad but beautiful. Just your style, Nicolette - it doesn't matter what you're writing about, it all turns out beautiful and to the point. I love the oppositions and images in this poem.
~Diana
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Thank you, Diana - you are most kind
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What a cruel trick life pulls on some people with so much to remember. Your poem has the softness of a grandmother's tender bed clothes. SO much emotion.
very lonely.
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Yes... my office is next to an old age home and when I visit the manager there I look at all these old people with the empty eyes... it is sad... once they were young and full of life too. Thanks, my friend.
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And oh wow... the image just makes tears roll down ones's cheeks... good one, Nic.
~Namita
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Thank you, Namita...
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this is so sad. yet brilliantly expressed!
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Thank you... yes the loss of memory is always sad.
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