DEMENTIA

With the privilege of being a Doctor, for many years I have treated and cared for patients with Alzheimer’s and it was heartbreaking every time. This poem is a small tribute to the forgotten people w

Who are you?

What wrong I did?

He asked with a start.

With a guilty submission,

Stuttering, stammering,

Spitting his lemon tart.

Fidgeting in his seat,

Food drooling from the lips,

Sometimes he talks to the ground

And sometimes to the sky.

 

Scratching his forehead,

Trembling unsteady feet,

Harder he tries

Harder it gets

Who am I ?

Where am I from?

What am I doing?

He frets, he forgets

As wings of time fly by.

 

A putrid smell of urine,

Unwashed, unshaved,

A half eaten meal

An unfinished drink

Clutter on the floor

Unopened post at the door

It is hard to get by.

 

A forgotten yesterday,

A stranger today,

An unknown tomorrow,

Another date in the calendar,

 Another day with no name,

Jumbled words, jumbled numbers.

My mind has messed up.

My heart though remains sane.

 

Dementia, they say I have,

Loopy, they say I have become,

And so many names I'm told

For once I'm glad I don't remember.

 

But for you, my love,

I am still the one,

I am still the same.