16 Comments
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David Donoghue's avatar

Alzheimer's is a brutal and unforgiving illness for all those who suffer it: the patient and their loved ones. I have relatives going through it right now and its a paradoxical thing to care and love what you know is no longer there and will never be again. This was heartbreaking to read but utterly true and honest.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

Thanks for your comments, David. It is brutal. I have friends who are walking through it with their parents right now. It’s run through our family. The forgetting is heartbreaking but the behavior changes and lashing out … My mom took care of him through the whole thing.

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Treasa's avatar

This poem by Rita Dove, have you come across it?

https://onbeing.org/poetry/eurydice-turning/

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

I had not read that. Thank you for sharing it. It's such a fabulous poem.

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26thAvenuePoet (Elizabeth)'s avatar

So glad you pulled this one out of the B stack, LeeAnn. So many memories, so many complicated feelings. Thank you for sharing it with us (and thanks for the mention as well).

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

You are so welcome. When I saw the title of your poem "Wing Man," I thought of my dad because he loved to fly planes. Even though that's not what your poem is about, the title triggered so many memories. I love all these connections between poems.

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Treasa's avatar

The love between you two with every poem I read of yours is so precious. Thank you for sharing.

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Brent Stiggins's avatar

Thank you for this wonderful Father’s Day poem.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

Thanks, Brent.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

Thank you for restacking this.

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James Lee's avatar

😥💔

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Margaret Ann Silver's avatar

I love this, LeeAnn. I'm so glad you shared it.

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Weston Parker's avatar

So very good. Thanks. When and why were you guys in Paris? What kind of work did your Dad do?

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

We were in Paris in 1988. I had just graduated from college and my parents took me to Paris and Florence as a graduation present. My dad was a mechanical engineer, so most of the work he did was connected to that in some way. He was a naval aviator in WWII and loved to fly.

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Weston Parker's avatar

What a wonderful present to two beautiful cities.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

It was. I minored in art history so I wanted to see all the art I had studied.

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