“Memories hidden in the back of my mind” (Poem)

“Memories hidden in the back of my mind”

(A poem about dementia & Alzheimer’s disease)

I’m sitting looking out the window thinking of days gone by

The times I looked up at the rainbow as it spanned across the sky

The family were young and full of life they played and worked till dawn

Enjoying the sun all day long until it was faded and gone

I would bake and sew and knit and cook re-using old clothes that were worn

I’ve loved my kids every day from the first day they were born

There was a flurry of activity around my home when the kids came home from school

Drinking milk with cookies and lots of snacks they would eat till they were full

They’re all grown up now playing with friends finding their way through life

One day the boys will meet a girl and take her as his wife

The girls they’re playing with their dolls along with their girly toys

Dressing themselves and brushing their hair with the hope to meet some boys

Life goes on and they’re married now they have a life of their own

It’s funny how they don’t look back to see that I’m all alone

The cookies the muffins the baking I did and the meals that we all shared

I’m getting older time’s slipping away I thought they would have cared

All these things are thoughts I have of the memories I could find

They were lurking in the back of my head before I lost my mind

I’m in a home now that’s for seniors you know, when you can’t remember when

My memory is fading really fast as I write this with my pen

My kids they thought it best for me to send me to this place

So they could live their life in peace not having to see my face

You see, no one knows these thoughts that I have they think that I’ve gone insane

They just don’t see my inner hurts they just don’t see my pain

As I’m staring at the walls for now people going to and fro’

No one comes to see me anymore it’s nearly time for me to go

Oh! Yes, the muffins the baking the meals we all shared those memories I make them last

The times we cuddled and loved each other are just things of the past

The children finally get the call to let them know I’ve gone

 To my final home up in the sky at last I’m not alone.

Written by Chris Turner

October 16^th, 2012


Chris Turner is a residential/commercial
painting contractor in Edmonton Alberta Canada
chris_turner@shaw.ca