Charmed Chaos
Musings on Life, Love, and Linguine-Poetry & Writing
Fugue
A swiftly failing memory
cast in hues of black and sepia
an 8 MM movie
flickering shadows on a blank screen
caught between imagination and reality,
life becomes a deep dark dream.
And in this fugue mental state
when a mind is fading, waning
thoughts move like sliding doors
on a dirty rusted iron track
getting caught in all the debris
of insignificant memories.
And then there are those days
when the mind is crystal clear
and the lovely music of yesterday
still wafts on the fragrant air
remembering those you hold dear
before in darkness, they slip away.
©2021 Linda Lee Lyberg
Author’s Note: This is how I imagine Alzheimer’s to be. My mother had some dementia in her later days, but I am grateful she never forgot me or my husband.
dVerse Poets Pub: Poetics On Shades of Black
Tuesday writing prompt at Go Dog Go Cafe
Linda Lee Lyberg is a wife, mother, artist, published poet and author. She resides in Mesa, AZ with her husband Pete (aka The Big Viking) of 24 years, and her dog, Ricky Bobby. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com
and purchase anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page
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POETS CORNER
Charmed Chaos 
Such a vivid and evocative portrayal, Linda! This line just made me stop and read it again and admire its creativity: “thoughts move like sliding doors/on a dirty rusted iron track”.
How you have used ‘black’ here is very effective. Well-penned! 🙂
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Thank you so much Anmol.
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Beautifully written Linda. I love your take on the word black and the void in the mind of those poor souls with Alzheimer’s.
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Thank you Christine.
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I felt my throat catch as I read that second stanza. A really well crafted metaphor.
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Thank you for your thoughts.
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I wonder if I could ever imagine this state… I saw my mother wither into darkness, and I do remember those few lucid moments… I remember the walks we could take until she failed and faded away
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I understand. Once my mother’s health started failing, it was only a matter of months before she was gone.
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Even without Alzheimers, I think we all know the feeling of reaching for a memory and finding that it has changed or faded. I like the image of a black and white movie – the outlines are there, the colour has gone.
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Thank you Sarah.
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Powerful Linda! You and I both contemplating dementia.
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Thanks Rob- will check it out.
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This certainly stirred up some emotions. A wonderful poem, such a perfect way to describe watching someone go through this.
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Thank you for your thoughts on this.
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They say that during dementia the brain shrivels and shrinks. Autopsy reveals this, must be sad and shocking.
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Yes, no doubt. Thank you Glenn.
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Nice last two lines reminding us to remember those we hold dear while we can.
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Yes, thank you Frank.
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I went through dementia with my mother. She would frequently ask where was my father and if her mother was coming to see her. No one can imagine such a desert of the mind, no one. We think we can, but we can’t
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I’m sure that’s true Toni. Sending you love.
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I mean we can write about it. Act like we know so much. But we know nothing. It is an hourly sadness.
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A sadness that lasts forever. I miss my mother more as time passes.
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Having experienced the effects of dementia on my great grandmother, grandfather and mother, this poem moved me, Linda; it depicts dementia so meaningfully. These lines are vivid:
‘thoughts move like sliding doors
on a dirty rusted iron track
getting caught in all the debris
of insignificant memories.’
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Thank you Kim.
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These are the moments our minds dissociate us, from what’s real, until we became, ready, to deal with, what’s happened to us in life…
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Thank you for your thoughts.
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Great poetry! Have you written a book with these in? You’re very talented. I’m looking forward to reading more.
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Thank you! I have some stories in anthologies but no book that’s all me as of yet. 😊
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Your poem is very moving, Linda.
I think of my mother’s later years as a time of silent confusion. It’s not that she didn’t know where she was, or even whom she had lost, but moments and associations would slip from her, and I began to wonder if her short-term memory loss was seeping into her deeper memories. But then, maybe her silence was spent in thoughts of her past.
I haven’t thought about this for a while. Your second stanza brought it back to me.
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Thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts and memories of your mother Ken.
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I lost my mom to Alzheimer’s (the long goodbye). This touched my heartsstrings.
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Thank you Beverly.
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This, to me, is an amazing description of what early onset Alzheimers or dementia must feel like. The comparison to flickering 8mm movies seems exactly right…and the idea of sliding doors too. It must be such a frustrating thing to be in the beginning of this insidious disease…as the person. And so frustratingly helpless as the family seeing it come on.
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Yes, I imagine so. I saw a movie quite some time ago called Away from Her. It was so poignant and sad.
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And thank you Lillian for your thoughts.
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