One More Moment

For the suffers of Alzheimer's and their families.

I watch you fade

before my eyes

into a world

that I cannot see

into a place

where I cannot follow you

 

Once you were mine

once your eyes saw me

loved me

but now you are

an empty shell

 

Drowning

in a sea of forgetfulness

you sink

into the depths of despair

I reach for you

try to save you

to bring you home

but your fingers slip

from my grasp

 

I cry out in pain

as day by day

I watch you leave me 

Once you were whole

but now

only fragments remain

Like slivers of light

small particles

of the person I once knew

shine from your eyes

briefly

allowing me to see

the one I loved

who loved and adored me

 

For brief moments

encapsulated

in time and space

you come back to me  

Hope erupts in my heart

but then 

just as suddenly

you are gone

stolen from me once more

by a disease

that is out of our control

that has claimed you

as its own

 

I call out your name

and with blank eyes

you stare at me

Once the most loved

of your heart

now I am but a stranger

in your midst

You ask me who I am

what I want from you

with fear and trembling

in your voice

and my heart breaks

for the thousandth time

since you started

to slip away

 

Once I believed

that you would come back to me

that you would remember me once more

hold me in your arms

tell me that you loved me

But now hope falls from me

in waves of sadness

as I watch you slowly disappear

vanish into a world

beyond my ability

to see or understand

 

All that is left now

is the waiting

Unable to fight that

which I cannot see

I know I must let you go

release you

into the hands of eternity

where at last your soul

can be free

 

Yet stubborn

defiant

I hang on

Whilst there is still blood flowing

through your veins

there is still the chance

that for a brief moment

you will return to me

that for a split second in time

you will once again be mine

 

And this

is what I wait for

Not for the end

but for the hope

of a moment

Just a single fleeting moment

where you will once again

remember my name

Where love will once again

shine in your eyes

where you will once again

occupy

the empty space

that now resides

within your flesh

 

I wait

as the last vestures of hope

cling desperately to my heart

Though my strength begins to wane

and the sorrow of my heart

overwhelms my soul

still I wait

just for a moment

for one last chance to see you

to tell you that I love you

to hold you in my arms

For a moment

that is more precious than gold

For a moment

that I will treasure forever

for one more moment

with you

I wait

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I understand the poem. The heart is the last to understand. Always a desire for a second dance in the emotion of love. I could feel the yearning and hope fade away in the poem. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you so much

[redflutterby]

This made me weep...I work with the elderly so I've seen the disease first hand. But it was watching my best friends mother succumb to it that really brought it home. She was the sweetest most caring lady and the personality change broke my heart. It was devastating. Last year I walked for our local Alzheimer's fundraiser in her honor. Our team raised almost thirty thousand dollars. Partly because so many people have been touched by this terrible disease. This poem is a sad but honest portrayal of what loved ones feel. Thanks for sharing...

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you so much. I'm glad it spoke to you. It really is a very sad devastating disease.

[Dayran]

My mother had a stroke and was debilitated for almost a year. To see a grand lady fading away that way was very hard to take.

[Inda]

Wow this is great and sad. Reminds me of my grandma, she's in a severe case of dementia, I'm sure many will relate to this. Great job!

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you, though I'm sorry she is going through that.

[Sarahthirk]

This gets me thinking of when my grandma has this disease, and it really hurt the entire family. I think you've got the emotions of it completely correct. I, just wondering, have you ever had a family member with this disease? If not, then you have such an accurate imagination. And if you have then this is still amazing, no matter whether you've experienced it or not

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you Sarah, this is a hard one for me because although my mother was not diagnosed with this she still slipped away from me before my very eyes. I drew on that when I wrote it.

[Sarahthirk]

Ah I see. Well I'm sorry that happened

[Carolann Dowsett]

That's ok, thank you.

[Acron 4]

I know a person like the person waiting in your poem. I think this poem would help her, and if it's ok with you I would like to send it to her. What I know about this disease is that it takes a victim, pieces of memory at a time, and so far there is no known cure. Thank you so much for this wonderful poem, as well sharing

[Carolann Dowsett]

You are welcome and yes you can share it with her, I hope it helps.

[John B]

Reading this, I couldn't help but picture someone dealing with a family member who has Alzheimer's. The brief moments when they would come back lucid and remember versus the time spent wandering in memory long lost. I think the line that stood out the most for me was:

"Just a single fleeting moment
where you will once again
remember my name"

Seems do describe what so many go through dealing with the fact that their parents or grandparents do not even remember them in the later stages of the disease. Well done.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you.

[Jordan's Back]

I am rendered Tearful and speechless.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you, means a lot that it moved you.

[KeeD]

I like how you take me through the pain, the agony of having someone close to you suffer such a horrible disease. It makes me feel really bad and guilty for not appreciating and remembering moments in my life that are important to me, better.
That is just proof that the writing is brilliant. I'm not sure if this is taken from a personal experience and it's none of my business to know but it felt very real and from the heart. It is very poignant and I just feel like a flawed human but who wants to improve his life. So great job, I disagree with john on the part about it being long and sometimes repetitive, of course he has immense experience over me and it's his opinion, in my opinion it's your own personal style and I love and appreciate the way you write. As I said in your earlier pieces you tend to take the reader on your own journey. I got my backpack ready for you next piece xoxo Kee.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thank you so much your comments are very encouraging. I'll happily take you on a new journey with me. :) xx

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Hi Carolann, I loved this loving description you have penned. It is poignant and so well described. I have noticed though you favour lengthy pieces and there is a tendency to get repetitive in places rather than add depth.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Ok thanks

[Jordan's Back]

but their is also a time when the length of the piece, and the repetition can add to the importance of the feeling conveyed. I wouldn't worry about this, gentleman too much Carolan it just sounds like someone is to caught up with the business of things he just prefer to read a shorter piece.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Thanks Jeff.