Remember When

REMEMBER WHEN

When I spill some food on my dress

Or forget to tie my shoe

Please be patient and perhaps reminisce

About the hours I spent with you.

Teaching you how to eat with care

And to tie the laces on your shoe

How to brush your teeth and comb your hair

These were precious hours I spent with you.

And when I forget what I was about to say

Just give me a minute or two

It probably wasn't important anyway

I would much rather listen to you.

If I tell the same story time after time

And you know the ending before I'm through

Please remember your first nursery rhyme

When I read it a hundred times for you.

When my legs are tired and it's hard to stand

And I can't walk the steady pace I'd like to

Please take me carefully by the hand

And guide me now as I so often did for you.

Alzheimer's Tiptoed in
and Carried You Both Away
by
William Smiley

When we're together, I look in your eyes and...nothing.
That glimmer that was once there, now is gone.
Sometimes I wonder if you even know my name,
what time it is... yesterday... what's been done.
Your mind seems so clouded and confused;
you sit and try to understand.
I even wonder what it is that's left of you:
a blank face, behind a smiling mask.
Some days are good days,
others are bad.
The Alzheimer's has control.
Then, it seems to have disappeared.
You don't understand
and you strike at me,
seem to realize the reality,
and you're sorry, no longer mad.
We walk, precious moments, in the park,
even though you're winded fast.
I look to these times in the dark,
when you think it's morning, ready to start anew.
It's strange, how you once cared for me,
and now it's I who cares for you.
Each moment of needed sleep I stay away from you,
I feel relieved, but guilty. I'm not there...
You often walk the halls,
something's troubling you.
If I ask, and you speak, I don't understand.
Your voice is mumbles, gasps, and even stranger sounds.
Oh how I wish that I could ease the pain.
The world you once knew has crumbled, fallen down.
The time has come
for us to part.
If I had one wish come true,
it would be: you'd find the love I have for you.
But this unseen killer with the booming voice
has called, and taken you away.
One last time, I whisper in your ear,
"I love you mom and dad, and I know you love me too."