Forgetting
Old age plays several nasty pranks,
Purloining strength and youth,
Seizing sight and sound and taste,
And modifying truth;
But worst of all the memory flees -
The day before is lost.
Though sixty years ago is clear,
Current events are tossed
Like rubbish in a refuse truck;
Confusion reigns supreme.
‘I never did, I don’t know how,
Don’t make me cry, I’ll scream.’
Forgetting is letting
The memories go,
Sensing identity
Fading, and so,
Child once more,
Your needs are
Met each day,
Every way,
Until
The end
Of
Time.
I am going to use this for my geriatric lecture
ReplyDelete👍🏽
DeleteLovely but sad.
ReplyDelete😞
DeleteSad but in some cases true.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't happen to everyone, but there's no telling where or when it will occur.
DeleteI don't want this for myself, but it is beginning, sometimes I have to retrace yesterday's steps just to remember what I had for dinner!
ReplyDeleteA measure of forgetfulness is normal, but no-one wants to decline to the point of helplessness.
DeleteI can identify with this and I am only 68 🥺
ReplyDeleteBusy people forget things - it's natural.
DeleteYes, I get it too. Sudden deaths when someone is still mentally and physically able are such a shock, but kinder to all in the long term. Observing slow and continuing decline is harder.
ReplyDeleteNice work, btw.
Slow mental decline is torture for everyone, I agree.
DeleteSad but funny at the same time. I just love it when I'm standing at the kitchen sink and I think of something I need to do in the kitchen, and I blink my eyes and forget.
ReplyDeleteSomeone I knew said she believed in the hereafter, as she often went into a room and wondered what she was here after. 😉
DeleteTrue but so sad.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to observe.
DeleteIt’s the scariest thing to me — more than physical well-being.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'm on the look-out all the time . . . 😟😲
ReplyDeleteHope it comes -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI don't!
DeleteAging can be cruel, but your words remind me to approach it with empathy, love, and patience and its legit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
May we all have the grace to be patient. I wasn't, when I could have been, to my eternal shame.
DeleteThis expresses it all perfectly!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeletePerfect. Dementia in particular is a cruel thief, both for the sufferer and those who live and care for.
ReplyDeleteIt is cruel. Some go gently into forgetfulness, while others struggle against it.
DeleteDementia is so cruel. I lost my dear mum years before she actually passed away.
ReplyDeleteOne in three people born in the UK will be diagnosed with dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Society charity.
It has of course been in our UK news recently due to Fiona Philips TV presenter and her husband Martin Frizell:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77vm4k635mo
Your poem shared here describes it perfectly.
All the best Jan
One in three seems awfully high. I suppose it's one of the prices we pay for living longer. There's ongoing research into the causes and treatment.
DeleteI experience these nasty pranks. They are a nuisance but not earth shattering.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble arises when you no longer realise that things are being forgotten . . .
DeleteI just came from my friend's home who is an amateur butterfly person.We were looking at the butterflies and hummingbirds visiting her garden. Your post is wonderful and the photos of the butterflies and extraordinary. I love the look of the cabbage butterfly.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have hummingbirds in the garden, but the nearest we have is the hummingbird hawk moth, and that not very frequently.
Delete"Forgetting is letting the memories go", that is so true. Sad but true and very cruel indeed. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt is cruel.
DeleteA beautiful poem on a very sensitive and emotional topic which touches the lives of so many of us.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Delete