Sickness Poem

Visiting A Dear Friend In A Dementia Care Home

I watched a very dear friend and companion slide slowly into the grip of dementia over several years until the time came when she had to go into residential care for her own safety and wellbeing. I had no contact with her when her family saw her through the assessment stages and returning from my first visit several months later after she entered a home I felt a despair akin to bereavement. This poem conveys how I felt.

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She Doesn't Know Me

Published by Family Friend Poems October 14, 2024 with permission of the Author.

In the crowded room she sits alone,
Lost inside her tangled thoughts,
Her eyes unfocused on the floor,
She doesn't know me any more.

This girl with whom I shared my life,
Who loved me as I love her still,
My dear companion, my best friend,
Stolen now to this sad end.

I cannot just desert her now,
Though every visit causes pain,
To see her weeping, sitting there,
Confused, and lost, and in despair.

Just one of many gathered there,
Cared for, safe, but lost to life,
To sit alone in lined up chairs,
Lost to all of those who care.

I wish that I could take her home,
To comfort her and ease her mind,
Shut out this cruel life, close the door,
But she doesn't know me any more.

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