A stealthy demon
That hides within time
Laying dormant
Until it begins to unwind
Arriving later in life
A bandit in disguise
It takes whatever it wants
Leaving tears in your eyes
A subtle loss
Unnoticed the first year or two
The theft of memory
Replaced by heartaches too
My adoptive Mother
A victim of this disease
Though at eighty years old
She excepted it with ease
Now my adoptive Father
Fallen under this cloud
At nearly ninety-five
Its deafeningly loud
Although at times I laugh
Of things he says or does
Other times it’s so sad
Knowing the disease is the cause
My own memories
Like gold I treasure
But memories of my Dad’s
I embrace to measure
At almost one hundred
A lifetime of memories fading
Sad that the human body
Lives on just wading
My sister and I
All we can do is observe
The slow decline of our Dad
His last wishes ours to serve
I think to myself
Damn this awful disease
But to God I thank
For giving my Dad his release
Copyright © Accidental Poet 2021