Links to the Past

As my parents slide down the path of dementia I realize the value of “Links to the Past”, material possessions that are kept for no other reason other than to hold a memory. So I came up with the following. Not sure if it is a poem or just rambling but it speaks to me about the current situation.

Possessions:
Why do some of us need the tangible, the physical
To remember the day, the moment?
When you remove an item from your past,
The memory of the past may be released.
If you keep the item, each time you see it
You will smile and remember that day.
But when dementia comes along
Memories are fleeting.
Possessions help tether that memory,
Still wrapped around the brain.
Until dementia finally releases the line.
The rope floats in the water,
Down the stream, further and further.
Memories are gone, possessions are now meaningless.


Do Not Forget:
Questions asked, again and again.
Confusion reigns on ponies high.
Memories that come and go,
Replaced by fog or innuendo.
Clouds of thought, moments of anger.
Things remembered, things forgotten.
Did you do this, did you do that, they say.
Why must you keep telling me, I ask.
I’m not a child. I’m not a kid.
Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.
I’ll remember, I’ll forget.
The “me” is still in here.
The one you love.
Don’t treat me like a dummy.
It’s not something I can control.
The pieces of me you know are still here.
Remember forever the person you knew,
As a child, a teenager, a young adult.
The one who held you when you were sad,
The parent who laughed at all of your bad jokes.
Remember for me, my entire life
And pass on my wisdom,
Pass on to everyone you know-
The soul of everything I am.