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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
This poem by Rita Dove, have you come across it?
https://onbeing.org/poetry/eurydice-turning/
I had not read that. Thank you for sharing it. It's such a fabulous poem.
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).
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.
The love between you two with every poem I read of yours is so precious. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for this wonderful Father’s Day poem.
Thanks, Brent.
Thank you for restacking this.
😥💔
I love this, LeeAnn. I'm so glad you shared it.
So very good. Thanks. When and why were you guys in Paris? What kind of work did your Dad do?
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.
What a wonderful present to two beautiful cities.
It was. I minored in art history so I wanted to see all the art I had studied.