Alzheimer’s disease:
A tribute to those who left and those left behind
-- Gone Before She Ever Left –
John Herlihy
Gone before she ever left,
Leaving behind a heart bereft.
Gone indeed but never lost,
Winter bedecked in lace frost.
Murmuring language of a bird,
The saddest story ever heard.
Misting in the passing hour,
Perfume departs the flower.
A eerie silence fills the haze,
Crimson leaves fall in praise.
Dying embers turn cold ash,
No more questions to ask.
Far horizon seen in the eyes,
Spirit on broken wings flies.
Into the realm of the beyond,
Stars as night light on a pond.
In her presence feeling alone,
In a vast desert, bleached bone.
Thoughts return as boomerang,
Lilting heart music that once sang.
Body as a smoldering ember,
Mind can no longer remember.
Memory still my thoughts uplift,
Gone as though she never left.
- - - - - -
Copyright ©John Herlihy
Wednesday 10 November 2022
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PS
I visited my grandmother about three times during her decline. In the end, she just stared that far-off stare and accepted whatever food was placed in her mouth. My uncle told me at her funeral that she, "Held on so long until your dad and our other brother got back together." They were seen burying the hatchet and shaking hands.
Ron