Alzheimer's

You told me when playing hide and seek and little games,

that I mustn't peak

That to be fair I had to hide my eyes and ignore the blinding light,

And being the little seven year old I was,

I listened to you above everyone

And so we played,

And my eyes shut.

At nine I was too young to understand,

that the brain can get sick too.

I thought it was all a game,

that everything was okay,

and that every single word coming out of your mouth was true.

One year later, I was no better,

but your cheeks were like a doll,

porcelain and pale,

it didn’t dawn to me that you were on your way to getting frail,

I guess I dismissed it as the common cold,

or a flu

When I was eleven, I didn’t necessarily want to be alive,

but your smile was so full of life, and I craved it

I adored it

You stole me away for a weekend,

became my best friend

and told me a fable that I still hold to be true.

You said that there are angels walking among us,

some are simply afraid to fly,

and others see through lies,

and though unfair to those touched,

An angel comes home, when they die.

At thirteen,

I got it.

Well, no

not completely.

But I understood that it wasn’t the same,

your hands now shook,

and you couldn’t eat half of half your weight

and your keys were nowhere to be found,

And you didn’t always know where home was.

At this point, I understood that you were lost.