Stolen Dreams

by Kate Swaffer ©

stolen dreams smashed against a solid brick wall

disappearing into nothingness

feeling cheated     angry     deeply sad

the six words that created my new world

what bad luck   you have dementia

this train is racing down a one way lane

no chance to get off      no chance of anyone getting on

never to return to the place I once knew

tears escaping from swollen eyes down blotchy cheeks

the taste of salt     a permanent flavour

my soul mate     angry and crying     both feeling cheated

we were two sides of the same coin

knowing each other intimately and completely

best mates and passionately in love

aware of each other’s thoughts before they were spoken

conscious of each other’s inner worlds     sadness or joy

our new world is collapsing into one of fear and trepidation

somehow we must find the good in yet another crisis

our love will get us through     it has before

but the effort will be gigantic

the world at the other end is too scary to think about

he said he will hate it when I forget who he is

then he said with a sense of despair

please don’t call me by your ex husband’s name

and at this we laughed out loud

even though the gravity of this new world

hit us between the eyes like a piercing hot needle

 

This poem was first written in 2008, and was published in my book of poems, Love, Life, Loss, A Roller-coaster of Poetry in 2012.