Mary’s Eyes
© 2008
Dan Johnson

I do not see her as often as I use to,
Mary broke a leg, required therapy,
Mary has Alzheimer’s, does not remember
Breaking her leg,
Time of day,
Weather is sunny or gray,
Me.

I am not offended that Mary does not remember me,
She has good reason, just the other day,
She asked her daughter, Cheryl, “Where are we going?”
Cheryl replied with a little giggle under her breathe …
“To the brink, Mother, to the brink!”
However, what she really said was:
“To the bathroom mother, to the bathroom!”

I saw Mary about a month ago at a function,
Walked up to her,
Took her hand,
Said “Hi Mary”
She looked frightened,
Mary looked beyond my eyes,
I could not tell for sure, how far she could see,
Or, on the other hand, what she saw.
Mary turned her head to Cheryl and said,
“Who is this strange person?”
I was not offended.
I have often, been referred to, by even my dearest of friends as ‘very strange.’
“Dan, Mother, its Dan! Don’t you remember, we see him all the time at Riley’s”
Mary had a slight glimmer in her eyes and asked Cheryl,
“What is Riley’s?”
As if on cue, Cheryl and I smiled, rolled our eyes, we understood.