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The thief, Alzheimer's

11/1/2012

8 Comments

 
You left us in increments...
Not all at once...
At first you forgot what happened yesterday,
then you forgot last week.
You revelled in tales of your dancing days.
You forgot to read the newspaper,
you forgot to colour co-ordinate your clothes.
As the seasons changed, you forgot you wanted to go home.
You became comfortable in the nursing home.
You relaxed and smiled and began to enjoy meals served up to you.
Then one day we had such a lovely visit.
You hugged me as I was leaving.
With a big, big smile you said 'thanks for coming to visit me Kathleen.'
Then I knew that the thief, Alzheimer's, had stolen my mother from me.
8 Comments
Yankshouse link
11/1/2012 03:55:39 pm

So sad - touches me

Reply
Martine Brennan link
11/6/2012 01:00:55 am

Thank you Catherine. It was a hard subject to begin to put into words but I got the tip of the iceberg this time. Martine

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Marie-Thérèse O’Loughlin link
11/1/2012 04:12:34 pm

Ah - Martine, the poem is utterly poignant, especially 'thanks for coming to visit me Kathleen.'? It speaks volumes. Whenever 'so-called' intelligent people use hateful language such as DERANGED in a mocking way to get at people, whom it appears they think are inferior, I think of people with alzheimer's, and wonder if the 'mockers' were saddled with someone with this disease, would they be more mindful of their derogatory language. Like 'the thief' in the night, they too could be left with the responsibility of someone who has slowly lost their faculties. I can just visualise your mother lying there. Thank you for sharing this very empathetic poem.

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Martine Brennan link
11/6/2012 01:02:22 am

Thank you for your gentle understanding Marie-Therese. It means a lot. Mx

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Julia Barnickle link
11/2/2012 06:09:14 am

Very poignant, Martine. I, too, lost my mum to Alzheimers.

Reply
Martine Brennan link
11/6/2012 01:03:13 am

Big hugs Julia, Mx

Reply
Mairead link
11/5/2012 06:58:40 am

Lovely poem, Martine. Alzheimer's truly is a thief. I have seen it's slow insidious creep so many times. I worked in a nursing home in Florida for many years. There I saw it's devastating trail. I often think about writing a book of short stories about the effects of Alzheimer's on different lives. Thanks for another great thought-provoking post.

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Martine Brennan link
11/6/2012 01:04:08 am

Can I sign up now for a copy Mairead? Mx

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