Alzheimers, you insidious beast,
You come upon our brains to feast
You thief of life that leaves a shell
And commits us to a living hell
You rob us of the joys of life
You pin us down and wield your knife
You cause such pain with no remorse
You slash and burn a brutal course
A sentence passed without reprieve
There is no hope to be perceived
You creep in shadows to rob the soul
Of all that once we would dearly hold
A family sits and holds the hand
Of one they love who cannot stand
Or use a simple fork or spoon
Who’s been taken from them all too soon
They feel the pain of helplessness
In the face of your relentlessness
And watch as day by day you quell
The mind of one they knew so well
And so we go from day to day
Living life in our usual way
What can we do, what can we say
To make this horror just go away
Unfortunately it is here to stay
Until medical science finds the way
To prevent it, stop it, keep it at bay
We hope and we pray for that wonderful day
-
Author:
Bella Shepard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: March 18th, 2022 15:17
- Comment from author about the poem: Five years ago I became a volunteer for a hospice agency, providing what are friendly visits and music enrichment for Alzheimers patients in a Memory Care Facility. Once a week I spend 15 to 20 with each patient I'm assigned, people who may or may not know I'm there. After I leave my patients I drive home to my normal life. What I leave behind in that nursing home are people whose existence is frozen in time. I have visited many, and have lost many. So this poem is very special to me.
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- Views: 27
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Comments9
You captured Alzheimer's perfectly, Bella, it's sad but true
Thank you for your kind words. It is a cruel disease.
Thank you for this gem. You bring forth the insidiousness of Alzheimer's disease. Thank for caring.
Thank you so much for your comments. It's been with us so long, we almost look at it as a part of aging. Researchers are beginning to understand more about the process, but there's a long way to go.
I know this to the core Bella, my wife died of dementia and for many years she had become somebody else before her passing gave release to us both.
Andy
Dear friend, I am so sorry that both of you and your wife had to experience the pain of this disease for so long. I understand that feeling of release, it comes when you know that the person you love is no longer suffering and there is peace for both of you.
Thanks for sharing this thoughtful poetry
Indeed no denial Alzheimer is truly scary
And painful for both the sufferer and their family
And thunderclaps and thousand words of thanks and appreciation for the noble service your delivering
We can’t live the pains for others
But atleast we can do our best to reduce it
And I hope medical science soon finds a cure for it
Amen
Thank you dear friend for your kind words of understanding. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
An insidious illness that strikes at will and shows no mercy. A well written poem. I have worked with many with this illness and it can be heart wrenching.
Thank you for your kind words and understanding.
Thanks Bella for a portrait which is true and to the point, encompassing as it does Both the mystification of the afflicted and the loss suffered by those close to what was someone they knew and loved.
Raises questions which can be very threatening also as we might query our own existence as an autonomous human…..
Thank you for your very thoughtful and insightful comments!
Deterioration of body, mind and soul of a loved one most be a worse fate than death. I cannot attest to experiencing such horrible wasting away, nor could yours truly (me) envision such suffering impacting kin or kin, though discerning my father meeting his demise courtesy congestive heart failure, yet.. he maintained his wherewithal until his last dying breath, which exhalation occurred October seventh two thousand and twenty.
Dear friend, my condolences on the loss of your father. Thank you for your kind and understanding words.
I know this beast & know it well .. I pray alongside you .................. N
Dear Neville, thank you for your understanding words. I would gather that you have first hand experience with this terrible disease, and for that I am so sorry. We will pray together.
Great write, Bella. Yes, this must be the cruellest disease ever, slowing stealing the life and memory, and knowing it's happening makes it worse.
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