Dementia
Sean Michael, September 2015
Critters in his brain
eating his thoughts
regurgitating nonsense
But somehow he knows his favorite songs
and I cheer as he sings along
the magic of music
But then he’s back to his disjointed rambling
and sometimes he yells at me
I just sit there quietly
Later he asks me if I’m mad at him
and I say yes
but my frustration doesn’t last long
Soon we’re bantering on about nothing
destroying the English language
useless words bouncing off the wall of prison cell
Posted for dVerse Poets, Open Link Night #160, November 12, 2015
Mad Poet Enchained 
The woes of Dementia can be painful indeed.
Well penned.
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Thank you.
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This is a tough read for me. So I worked with dementia my whole life as a nurse, I’m now dealing with it in my mother and I just got back from visiting her. Each time she seems more and more diminished. Its hard when it runs in the family to wonder what lies in your future. You’ve described it well.
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My cellmate, at the time of writing, was diminishing very quickly, and it seemed the more I tried to help him, the more confused and upset he became. I have since been moved to another cell.
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The earlier stages of dementia are the most difficult both for the patient and for those who are around him, those who care for him. I’m glad that you have some separation from him now. It must have been terribly difficult to share a cell in those circumstances.
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I’ve not had to deal with this in my family and hope I never do. I did help attend to an elderly woman once who suffered from it but because I wasn’t a family member it didn’t have the same hurtful effect on me.
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Seems so sad and such a difficult condition.
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I think so. He was quite cantankerous. I practiced much patience– some days were harder than others.
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It sounds a tough time. My daughter has started to work with dementia patients and it needs skill and patience and so hard for those close to the person.
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Those of us in the winter of our lives, suffering from word searches & dark secrets, can find a lot in this piece that resonates with us. Prisons come in all shapes, materials, geographies, & circumstances. A job you hate, a bad marriage, bad blood with your kids, fear of heights, ad infinitum.
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Sad and telling. Well described!
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Yes, thank you.
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I agree with Glenn..prison works as a metaphor for many things…this is a heartfelt write about a very hard situation.
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Prison is a good metaphor, but in this case, it was both a metaphor and reality.
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I see this on so many levels.. Dementia inside a prison must be like double bars, the ups and downs the relapse into normality..
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I agree. You’ve reading my poetry for a long time, and I appreciate your comments. I hope you’ll look for my book when it comes out in about six months.
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A lot of sadness – a contrast between upsides and downsides – very well penned.
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Thank you.
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If there is any magic in dementia
it is the emotions that
go last.. if there
is any terror
beyond
terror
in life
is when
the emotions
go first.. and the
mind is left sinking
and knowing a
quicksand
that
never ends..
and of course that
can happen at any
age of human hell..
incarnate
on
this earth
just now
in eYes
of
cold
deep beyond
human heArt…
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