When someone you love is diagnosed with dementia as a caregiver your own life gets turned inside out as well. In fact probably even more as the caregiver. But really who knows? All of us are having our own experiences through our personal realities. Who are any of us to say what's real or not real in any given moment for anyone else.
For me poetry and music have been consistent ways to examine emotions and personal growth the experience gifts me. Recently, I have found myself, once again, pulling at the threads my emotions through poetry. Some how by placing one word next to another I am able to find peace with grief. But even more powerful, I have been able to unravel the gift of the journey.
Here are two of my most recent poems:
a cardinal rests
it’s frozen reflection
~ encapsulated
your colorful life stilled
in a lake of memories
Love’s Current
Around the bend of your kiss
is a mist that turns my voice thick.
Our journey reveals mysteries
one at a time.
No longer wading in uncertainty
we stand together under a waterfall of eternity.
Toes gripping a slippery foundation
fingers laced, we face each other
immersing ourselves
in the path that lies ahead.