The Effects Of The Disease - A Poem Shared
Where is My Mother?
Only rarely do the editors of Expository Files miss a publication deadline. But
we missed it in July. We apologize for the delay. Being out of town and having a
death in the family caused our delay.
The death was my mother-in-law, who was under our care for many years but was in
a nursing home at the time of her death. Alzheimer's Disease was her existence
for many years. Early in the long process, my wife Paula wrote this, which goes
to the heart of what the effects of this disease on family:
Where is my Mother?
Where has my Mother gone?
Why can't I find her?
It's been so very long.
She stands before me,
But it's empty eyes I see,
Once aglow with light,
Now clouded, yet with sight,
Eyes smiling at the sight
Of children playing day or night.
Eyes that understood the needs
Of those she worked to feed.
Eyes that could bore holes
Deep within my very soul.
Eyes that danced so happily
When surrounded by her family.
The twinkling eyes of yester year
That spoke to me things so dear
Have fallen silent and still,
Without hope, mindless, nil.
They no longer speak
Of love, of joy, of kindness
Of peace, of hope, of tenderness
They just no longer speak.
Where is my Mother?
Where has my Mother gone?
Why can't I find her?
It's been so very long.
She stands before me,
But it's empty eyes I see,
My dear sweet Mother
Is just a memory.
By Warren E. Berkley
The Front Page
From Expository Files 15.7; July 2008
