As My Mother Lies Dying

For as long as I can remember
I’ve feared my mother would
die from dementia

Forget everything she’s done
Forget her children, her travels,
her perseverance

Leaving an abusive marriage
Raising children as a single mother
Making a new life of her own

Her boyfriend, her grandchildren
and great grandchildren
all forgotten and lost

To the fog of the brain
The crippling of the body
The slow descent to a miserable end

That time approaches quickly
she’s near the end of life
already gone mentally

Her body refusing to let go
as she lies there
unable to do anything

other than breathe and moan
It’s not the end she deserves
but it’s the hand dealt by the Universe

A sad end for a strong woman
who did her best for her family
through difficult and tragic times

Good-bye Mom, go into the light
Where you’ll remember again
that you were loved.