(MEMORIES LOST)

“I remember, my love…” The old man said, as they strolled at dusk on the beach

“I try”, she said. “I try so hard, but my memories stay just out of reach.”

Her trembling fingers clutched at his hand as teardrops dampened her cheeks

“I’ll try to remember”, she said to him, “but will you come back next week?”

His old eyes stung with the tears he hid as the sun sank down to its rest,

And a lone night-bird gave a mournful cry as his sad heart ached in his chest.

Each night as they walked he told her again of how and when they first met,

But he knew, the moment they walked back home, that her mind would once more forget.

These walks in the sand were what they’d enjoyed for all of the years they were wed.

They were all that was left of the life they had shared; her recall of their life had long fled.

He told her the tales of the life they had lead and the wonderful sights they had seen,

But he knew as he saw the light fade from her eyes that, to her, it was all a sweet dream.

Alzheimer’s had taken his beautiful wife, and left just the touch of her hand

That for sixty short years had soothed his soul as they went for their stroll on the sand.

He knew as he saw the fear in her eyes that neither could live on alone,

And into the waves they walked hand in hand, believing their God called them home.