Blogs, email, text, twitter, FaceBook and occasionally, a phone call or face to face talk. So many ways to connect to others. But how do we connect with friends and family who have dementia and are losing or have lost these lines of communication? I wrote this poem during the final stages of my mother’s journey through Alzheimer’s. I think it’s what she would have said.
Silence Has a Voice
My memories of yesterday
Will become distorted over time
The written word will lose its strength
A verse will have no rhyme
The laughs we shared will pass me by
My words will make no sense
Such simple things we once enjoyed
Will often make me tense
Old photographs will fade away
Your face will lose its name
You’ll think I’ve traveled far away
But my heart will know you came
No need for words nor bouquets bright
No trinkets made of gold
No promise for tomorrow’s light
Just your hand for me to hold
Your love’s the only treasure
It will endure through all the pain
Just speak to me in silence
You’ll be my sunshine in the rain
Black stained glass graces the tangerine wings that rest upon mossy green foliage while hints of dandelion yellow tickle about
Perhaps you have a loved one who just needs to hold your hand. Don’t miss the chance to visit with him or her. Words aren’t always necessary. Silence has a voice.
Writing Silver Linings 