Goodbye To Me

My memory an attic where treasures
Once precious lay gathering dust
Brilliant colors now turned gray

There is a frantic rustle
As I dig through my trunk of yesterdays
Faces stored there more familiar
Than those standing before me now

Where has my husband gone
Please someone help me find him
He is my forever love
This man though familiar is not him

Have you seen mom or dad
Why haven’t they been here to visit
Please can I call them

Agitated I open drawers searching
Folding and unfolding my clothing
My dinner placed among the socks

I must leave this place
These sterile walls are not
The ones I wallpapered

My babies need me
It is almost time for them to
Arrive home on the school bus

I sit crying in my wheelchair
I can not find my way home
Help me in this fearful place
Of saying goodbye to me


(My mother had Alzheimer’s. It was a heartbreaking long goodbye)

Comments

Susie,

I found your link on Journals of an Insane Poet and, after reading this poem, I had to write a comment. My mother died three years ago on 9/3/07 after suffering for years with dementia. This poem touched so many places in my heart and soul. I have yet to find a way to put the full extent of my feelings into words. You may have made it easier for me. The long goodbye doesn't seem to say enough ... and yet, somehow it does. Thank you for this beautiful poem.