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Dementia

Slip into your familiar fiefdom sealed to me;
I’ll say adios now, as I release your angel arm,
admitting the unattainable.
Go with your peers through nether
portals of the mind, stranger than witchcraft.
Dark shores bordering lightness.
Maybe I too will traverse their sands,
beyond reason, more cryptic than art
or the poetic word.

My goodbye is irreversible. You´ll not know
me if I, too, plummet into improvident spaces.
I can only sit by you, disregarding
your prattle, confident of some sheltering empathy
in the synchronicity of our lives.
Go before I burst out crying for the self
I loved in you; stumble off as if nothing happened.
Grope your droll road to baffling echelons
with their odd laws.

Review Request (Intensity): 
I appreciate moderate constructive criticism
Last few words: 
This about my late husband's many years with vascular dementia.
Editing stage: 
Content level: 
Not Explicit Content

Comments

Hi, Gracy,
What strength it must have taken to write this heartbreaking poem. I hope your poetry provides some healing for you.
Thank you,
L

Dear Lavender, I actually wrote this poem and several similar ones, during the time Carlos had dementia. It was a healing process to write it all down. I also wrote at least one short story about a trip in an ambulance when he had convulsions after a heart surgery ( he had three before the dementia).
So yes, you're right, it does provide healing for me. Thank you, Gracy

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"My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies; fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die, I can fly, my friends.” – Freddie Mercury

author comment

thing to happen to one of our loved ones. These lines brought it home to me, as my mother-in-law had Dementia and I watched someone I loved almost as much as my own mother, deteriorate before my eyes.
"Go, before I burst out crying, for the self I loved in you; stumble off as if nothing happened." Such tenderness and yearning for a glimpse of the person we used to know. Great and sad read, ~ Geezer.
.

There is value to commenting and critique, tell us how you feel about our work.
This must be the place, 'cause there ain't no place like this place anywhere near this place.

Dear Geez, so you've also seen the deterioration of a loved one, no need to add anything. My husband's lasted 15 years. And one son had schizophrenia, so I've been thru' a lot. Writing poetry about all these experiences is a healing process.
Bless you, Gracy

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"My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies; fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die, I can fly, my friends.” – Freddie Mercury

author comment

I hope that your writing helps someone else, by letting them know that they are not alone. Maybe one day... ~ Geezer.
.

There is value to commenting and critique, tell us how you feel about our work.
This must be the place, 'cause there ain't no place like this place anywhere near this place.

Yes, I hope so too, Geez. Thank you and keep safe, Gracy

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"My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies; fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die, I can fly, my friends.” – Freddie Mercury

author comment

Thank you for your kind words, Teddy. I find writing about these sad topics is like therapy for me. Carlos was a physician, a psychologist and a poet. He also wrote essays that were published, in Spanish.
So it was heart breaking to see him go downhill and for so long, 15 years. My son Robert had schizophrenia, as I think I've said many times, sorry.
I don't believe such illnesses can be turned into gold, either in poetry or any other way. But it's so sweet of you to say so.
Keep safe, Gracy

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"My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies; fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die, I can fly, my friends.” – Freddie Mercury

author comment

Dear Jerry, thank you for your kind words. Yes, I was devoted to Carlos and still am. I often dream of him, of the times when he was OK. Count your blessings, you and Lynda have come a long way, safely. Keep it up, Gracy

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"My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies; fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die, I can fly, my friends.” – Freddie Mercury

author comment
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