My mom has Alzheimer's.  Recently she was put in a home because it has progressed so quickly and aggressively with her.  She's only 67, which in my mind is not that old for a senior citizen.  It's like the geriatric equivalent of a 20 year old.  But the body does not recognize this fact, nor take it in to consideration when it decides to allow such a horrid disease to attack its neurological system.  The challenges of dealing with my mom's illness has been a rollercoaster of emotion that I haven't quite learned how to deal with in a healthy manner.  Needless to say, I'm attempting to revert back to some of my old coping mechanisms that allow me to express myself through word and verse.  So, I wrote a poem.  Or attempted to write something that may or may not resemble a poem.  It expresses how I feel right now.  Perhaps I won't feel this way tomorrow, but right now in this moment, I feel this way.

Dementia.

Hollowness. The depth of my anguish is an onyx abyss. 

Cold. Hard. Without end, it goes on into an infinite space of sorrow.

Missing the warmth of the sun. The rays of light that gave growth shine no longer.

Shadows. Deep. Dark.  Endless pain looms on beyond the horizon of hope. 

My sun, my moon, my stars all extinguished with the disappearance of her light.

Mom. Where have you gone? It is now, more than ever, that I need your guidance. 

Your sense. Your presence. Your love.

Missing you.  Needing you.  

Mom. Come back. Remove the veil that hides the essence of you.

Remember me. Remember us. Remember. 

Please.  I need you.  I miss you.  I love you.