•
here is the change
the forgetting
the slipping away
into the haze of memory
the frustration
of no longer being able
and still
the burning longing to…
remember
and you
dimming in this fog
midst the times we have cherished
the places we have loved
fading beyond reach
an ever-mounting loneliness
like so many vacant seats
empty
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
A very sad sound overall, but finely expressed.
Sadness, yet woven between words is a hope for a different conclusion. Isn’t that what memory sometimes is?
Beautiful poem…
Rick
This speaks to me of what it must feel like to no longer be able to call up memory. I really like how you open this “Here is the change” and follow it immediately with “the forgetting”. There is, of course, more than one way to read this poem, and certainly one can read it as love lost, but for me, the sense of physically losing ability to remember seems the strongest thread of meaning.
as that bitch Time has its
way with us, as muscles become
flaccid, and cortical erections
become jello, I sit with a stick
of ginseng in one hand, and my
fingers stroking the internet with
the other. Technology has given
us the storehouse for instant
recall, and I use it shamelessly.
A dear friend is caring for her husband, slipping away with Alzheimer’s … as sad as your poem is … I know she will want to read it.
emotive…the slipping away…my first thought with this pic was dementia which truly scares me…but beyond that the slipping away of most things often carries much pain…nice write man.
I see the fading of love as sweethearts get distracted by life and drift apart into separate worlds of loneliness. At least you can still see her; there’s hope for pulling back into one another’s arms.
Love the closing:
“an ever-mounting loneliness
like so many vacant seats
empty”
This is a gorgeous and heartbreaking write.
great to see you again at dverse man…
Not a word wasted but so much said.
Really nice.
=)
Rob- Very touching and sad, especially the ending.
So many vacate seats, really does make her seem lonely, great verse.
you captured the mood in this image so well rob…these lines stand out for me..
the frustration
of no longer being able
and still
the burning longing to…
remember… says so much..
Dear Rob: Never to let go of these cherished memories, and although the fog does create the illusion of forgetfulness, may the heart always remembered. I adore this poem! an ever-
mounting lonelinessand you
dimming in this fog
midst the times we have cherished
like so many vacant seats
POWERFUL!
Aging sucks, doesn’t it? Beautiful expression of an inevitable condition…