Mentally, she's an enigma, and seems to wander among various degrees of past and present reality. She's always been very sharp, so this is really quite disturbing.
Plus, a dear friend of mine who was an educator and a wonderful musician, only in his early 70's, is deep in the grip of dementia. He now lives with his daughter and can't remember how to find his way to the bathroom.
SHW prompt: Family
TWW CCCVIII prompts: Echo, Hardship, Softly
Family memories
Echo softly -- the hardship
Of dementia nears
Echo softly -- the hardship
Of dementia nears
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A non-haiku on the 3 words
Inspired by Pigeon Diaries
Always speak softly of lost love
The echo is a drumbeat in your heart
Memory marches on in hardship
~ ~ ~
Update 12/20: As a haiku
Lost love - speak softly
Your heart's drumbeat - echos of
Memory's hardship
This one has 1st-3rd line interchangeability;
a feature I haven't previously considered.
Memory's hardship
Your heart's drumbeat - echos of
Lost love - speak softly
I think the second version seems a bit more coherent.
I'll at least be thinking about interchangeably in the future.
Inspired by Pigeon Diaries
Always speak softly of lost love
The echo is a drumbeat in your heart
Memory marches on in hardship
~ ~ ~
Update 12/20: As a haiku
Lost love - speak softly
Your heart's drumbeat - echos of
Memory's hardship
This one has 1st-3rd line interchangeability;
a feature I haven't previously considered.
Memory's hardship
Your heart's drumbeat - echos of
Lost love - speak softly
I think the second version seems a bit more coherent.
I'll at least be thinking about interchangeably in the future.
My heart goes out to you. We've faced the sadness of dementia with both my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law. It is such a scary disease, both for us and for them. Stay strong.
ReplyDeleteI do hope your poem is fictional - if not, do not go gently into that darkness. Blogging is a good weapon with which to fight. A good and blessed Christmas to you.
ReplyDeletewell penned haiku on sad topic ~
ReplyDelete(A Creative Harbor) aka ArtMuseDog and Carol ^_^
My heart goes out to you it's difficult to transverse these difficult days. My Mil is showing signs of her age and its hard for her and us to see things change so rapidly
ReplyDeletePoignant write ... my husband's aunt (like my 2nd mother) is deep in the void of Alzheimer's ... not knowing anyone anymore. So sad ...
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you are experiencing this as well.
Kinfolk Traditions
Dementia ... so sad to see the loss of someone still here...I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteI hope there will be some moments of light for all during this sad time.
This is wonderful"
"Always speak softly of lost love
The echo is a drumbeat in your heart
Memory marches on in hardship"
Arrrrrrrgh! Please, not even in jest!
ReplyDeletegetting old stinks! sweet tribute. i dread this as my parents get older...praying for peace to you all.
ReplyDeleteThat first one pains my heart, the second carries with it a loveliness I quite enjoyed. Both are great haiku.
ReplyDeleteLosses of any kind seem much more poignant at holiday time....
ReplyDeleteI know a lady late 70s-early 80s they thought she had dementia and it turned out it was a combination infection and the meds she was on. She is absolutely fine now (mentally and physically. I myself, 73, was having terrible mental, physical, balance, problems - turned out I was B12 deficient. Started taking B12/folic acid and now my faculities are back - thank God! So please, make sure you have her checked out by more than one doctor and know what kind of meds she is on.
ReplyDeleteMy mom had dementia the last ten years of her life - she died 2 years ago at the age of 100.5. I pray that your Mom gets well!