Right now I’m living in a strange surreal world
A world where people are kind
Making kind comments
Doing kind things
My name up on posters
In towns far and wide
On radio and press
My name appears constantly
Almost makes me sad though….
Strange how dementia has brought me success…..
Ohhh that it was for another reason……..in a different lifetime
I apparently wrote this poem in 2017……..the sentiment is still the same today thank goodness…..
When I type
Words come freely
Fingers work quickly
No sign of dementia
When I type
When I type
I can pretend
I can be normal
You just wouldn’t know
I’m not like you
Until I stop
Until I speak
Until I walk
Until I stand before you
Reading my words………..
I wish I had a recording of the old me as others would then understand how the alien hesitant childlike voice that has now taken up residence, is a total stranger.
Never judge a book by the cover……………
There once was a disease called dementia
Which made us feel very uncomfy
It stole words and our memories
changed our brains and abilities
That once dreaded disease of dementia
And then I awoke
A dream I just spoke
Dementia’s still here
What a bummer……..
I may have lost some old friends due to dementia but I have gained a wealth of new ones.
Today’s blog is a husband and wife duo of a blog…….. My dear friend Bob, also living with dementia has sent me yet another gem of a poem. I’ve told him I’m going to have to create a ‘weekly Bob slot’ for his wonderful poetry……he ended his email by saying, ‘Thank you for your calmness and warmth.’ Well thank you Bob for your amazing poems……
SOME DAYS…WARM FRIEND
Some days have no ways
of raising your spirits
or enlightening your heart.
So,
when there’s such blankness,
where do you start
to lift up the cover
and light up the room
enclosing your ‘can-do’,
pulsating your gloom?
Then,
no waste of time
in this mood of ‘reflect’.
Get up and get out!
Be bold! Go!
Connect
with those that you love,
and share where you are!
Have no reservations!
Pooh-pooh the ‘do-da!
Be honest and open!
With a true friend you’ll find
warm satisfaction
and calm peace of mind xx 29/01/19
The second part of the blog is a request from his wife Sue, to advertise an event she’s involved with organising. I suppose this bit is for people local to myself to check out. So here’s the advert…..
It’s a chance to have some lunch time fun and food and all in the name of a good cause…..Sounds wonderful…….if you’re local would you mind sharing this amongst your friends please? Thank you 🙏
I’ve met wonderful people since being diagnosed and Bob and Sue are two of the most recent.😊
It was my birthday last week and I received so many birthday wishes from people I’d never met before, some total strangers who happen to see it on Twitter but who were kind enough to still send a greeting and for some reason these words popped into my head…..
Have you ever stopped to Wonder?
Have you ever stopped to Stare?
Have you ever stopped to Listen?
Have you ever stopped to Care?
How often in your lives
Have you wished for time
To run away
And become the future?
To wish for that weekend
To wish for next year
To wish for that holiday
To wish for the future to become clear?
Well now, I never wish
For time to fly
As the future holds
A me I fail to recognise
No matter how busy your day
Just make sure you stop
and look and listen all around you
And enjoy that moment and smile
Because in the blink of an eye, the moment will be in the past………
It was my birthday last week and I received so many birthday wishes from people I’d never met before, some total strangers who happen to see it on Twitter but who were kind enough to still send a greeting and for some reason these words popped into my head…..
Have you ever stopped to Wonder?
Have you ever stopped to Stare?
Have you ever stopped to Listen?
Have you ever stopped to Care?
How often in your lives
Have you wished for time
To run away
And become the future?
To wish for that weekend
To wish for next year
To wish for that holiday
To wish for the future to become clear?
Well now, I never wish
For time to fly
As the future holds
A me I fail to recognise
No matter how busy your day
Just make sure you stop
and look and listen all around you
And enjoy that moment and smile
Because in the blink of an eye, the moment will be in the past………
On my blog, on Twitter and as I go to different places, I’m lucky enough to meet some wonderful people and make wonderful new friends. Bob and his wife Sue have been to two of the workshops I hold with Cathryn Hart. He’s also a wonderful poet and sent me this amazing poem he wrote after our last workshop……felt very humble and overwhelmed when I read it. It’s now been framed and is on the wall in my memory room…….Hope you enjoy it too…..
Wen-dy day is looking grey,
Wen-dy ‘dos’ don’t go your way,
then it’s time to turn your mind
to Wendy Mitchell.
Wen-dy head don’t seem to know,
Wen-dy worries seep and grow,
then you MUST blow off the dust
with Wendy Mitchell.
Wen-dy evening seems too long,
Wen-dy ‘should-I?’s go all wrong?
then remind yourself the ways
of Wendy Mitchell.
For, without a single doubt,
think of Wendy, you will shout
‘She can do it!
So can I!
She has shown me how to fly!
Take on all those conflagrations!
To exceed all expectations!
I’m here!
I’m whole!
I’m free!
And,
best of all,
I’m ME!’
with love, thanks and good wishes, Bob xx
This is a poem by a Twitter and blog friend – Sonya Hill. Her Father in Law has Alzheimers and also a friend of her mum…..Enjoy. I’ll try and pass on any messages you send.
How many times do i have to say please behave if only for a day.
What ever I say or what ever I do never seems acceptable to you.
You sit with a vacant expression on your face, I run backwards and forwards for you all over the place.
Where have I put that this and where have I put that you ask and I reply, I’ve told you a thousand times then you look at me and sigh.
It’s then I cup your face and look into your eyes, it’s hard for you to understand, and make you realize.
Looking back throughout the years the memories we hold, the love, laughter, and all the stories you have told.
It’s you and me now, a challenge every day, as I gaze into your empty eyes I would just like to say.
I loved you when we met all those years ago, it’s now been more than 25 years and I love you even more so.
You can’t help yourself with this dreadful disease, but we can fight it along the way.
Even though it’s a battle to make you understand, I would just like to say,
Alzheimers, for you, is a lonely life but always remember I love you my darling wife.
If you think of the future and forget the past let’s live our lives as though it’s our last……
Waiting in limbo
Holding your breath
Waiting for normality
For routine
Words can’t express my thanks
To the Twitter world out there
For keeping me company
When the demon of loneliness appears
Enabling me to type
Keeping the routine going
Waiting for the world to wake up
To join me once more
I had a wonderful Christmas
A new year full of cold
But all I wanted really
Was the daily routine of old……..
What makes you feel back to normal after Christmas …..?
A time of year I love
To enjoy ‘The Holly and the Ivy’
Amidst the ‘Bleak Mid Winter’
When darkness dominates the day
When ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’
And bring calmness to the chaos around
When a ‘Silent Night’
Is all that I seek
I hope to bring
‘Joy to the world’
To family and friends alike
So everyone can sing this ‘Christmas Carol’
‘Deck the Halls’
And ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’
And ‘Have yourselves a Very Merry Christmas’
Singing ‘Tidings of comfort and Joy’
So ‘Come rest ye merry gentlemen’
Feel blessed this time of year
And let me and my family
And Billy, of course
Wish you all
A Happy Christmas
And see you in the New Year…
