Writing

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Writing 201: Poetry – Fog

Assignment #5 has a word prompt of Fog to be written in the form of a Elegy using the device of metaphor. Here is my poem:

Watching the fog lift from the lake takes me back to when my dad died.
First, heavy and thick. Then it becomes clear again.
Brain got clogged after fall. Losing memory with strange behavior.
Love lasts… Long life… Gone. Great father. I will miss him.

Photo_IMG_1664.JPG_Crop_v2

It thought it would be interesting to learn more about poetry, so I am taking the Writing 201: Poetry course over the last two weeks of February.

This was a tough one to do.  It was really hard to try to match the elegiac couplet rhythm, and also weave in a metaphor with an elegy. But I think I got pretty close. And it was nice to think about my father again after losing him at age 93 almost two years ago.

Let me know what you think, and comments are appreciated.

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Love, Memory, and Music

I was thinking about love, memory, and music during Valentine’s Day weekend.

Love

First, this makes me think of my Mom who has had Alzheimer’s disease for probably about 10 years now and will be 95 in May. Every time I visit her, all she knows and says is how much she loves me, and we spend the time with hugs and kisses. When I leave, she doesn’t really know that I have been there. But when I suddenly show up again the next time, it’s a wonderful surprise for her that makes her day. This constantly amazes me how she still remembers me and knows that she loves me (and my wife), although sometimes she doesn’t know whether I’m her brother, husband, friend, or occasionally son.

She still has her same warm, pleasant, and loving personality much of the time. She’s always telling me how wonderful I am, thanking aides and saying that she loves them, and even EMS ambulance staff how they’re doing a “good job” when taking her to the emergency room when she recently was hospitalized for the flu. On good days, she still exhibits a wonderful sense of humor even laughing at her own inability to find words or complete a sentence. Another thing that strikes me is how she still comes out with typical phrases or sayings that I’ve heard her say over the years. She’s still the same Mom I’ve loved all my life.

Memory

Although this is very sad, it’s probably a blessing that she doesn’t remember that she hasn’t seen me for a few days or wondering when she will see me again. Everything is just “right now”.

She doesn’t even realize that the husband she married over 70 years ago has not been with her for almost 3 years now, and he died a year later in 2013. When he left after a fall in the bathroom for the hospital and nursing home and we realized he was never coming back, she was moved to another room with another woman about her age.

My Dad fell forward hitting his forehead on the vanity, and then backward onto a small table which fractured some ribs and vertebrae. He never recovered in spite of their rehab efforts, and his vascular dementia became significantly worse during his final year..

It’s really amazing that she doesn’t know he’s gone, and it was somewhat strange that we never told her about his death. However, we were advised that it might destabilize her and she would not remember anyway, but possibly know that something was wrong and be anxious about that, and maybe have to experience grief over and over. So it’s much better this way.

Music

Music is wonderful for people with Alzheimer’s disease. They always have music playing in the assisted living memory care facility where my Mom lives. It’s enjoyable, familiar, and comforting for listening while they spend their days. It’s amazing how often residents will start humming or singing along to old hymns or songs from their younger years.

Somehow the music connects with emotions, feelings, and experiences from their life which they would not be able to recall cognitively. It seems to help take them back then and feels good. Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease that gradually destroys your brain, but there’s some way that music and love remain (for now anyway). At some point she won’t even know who I am, that she loves me, or I love her!

I’m Not Gonna Miss You

This also reminds me of the country music legend Glen Campbell, who has been struggling with Alzheimer’s. See my music post about his final song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”, his “I’ll Be Me”  film, and a CBS “Farewell Tour” video.

I can relate to that very honest song, when listening to the lyrics, which reflect his Alzheimer’s reality with a focus on his wife and family. My Mom won’t miss me either when she dies. Her world is limited to the current moment in time, and sometimes she is overwhelmed with emotion because she is so happy when she sees me. Although there is no past or future for her, she lights up, smiles, and sometimes cries when I visit. But when I leave, she doesn’t even realize that I was there a few minutes ago.

After writing this post, I also wrote a poem about her for a Writing 201: Poetry assignment on trust. Although she may not miss me, I definitely will miss her.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom & Dad. Thanks for your love and support all my life. I love you!

Writing 201: Poetry – Animal
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Writing 201: Poetry – Animal

Assignment #4 has a word prompt of Animal to be written in the form of a Concrete Poem using the device of Enjambment.

pepper-christmas

Here’s my poem about our cat Pepper and my youngest son.

         Our     cat 
     was named Pepper. It  
   lost     its     mother, 
     so     we     thought 
     it would be a good 
      pet for our kids. 

        Our    youngest 
        son    was    
     always    good   
       with    music 
        and    art.

   It was black and white, 
    and one day we found 
   he carefully colored in
       the white area 
       along Pepper's 
              n
              o
              s
              e 
   between    the    eyes 
    with purple marker 
    while it was asleep.

         Another time 
        we discovered 
       he had drawn a 
      life size picture 
        of an indian 
      in full headress 
     (with arms crossed) 
        using crayons 
     on his bedroom wall - 
 we had been in Indian Guides. 


Sometimes we would 
     find the cat 
          hanging 

by its claws 
     from weave curtains 
          in the living room.



And somehow it survived 18 years.

It thought it would be interesting to learn more about poetry, so I am taking the Writing 201: Poetry course over the last two weeks of February. Let me know what you think, and comments are appreciated.

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Writing 201: Poetry – Trust

Assignment #3 has a word prompt of Trust to be written in the form of an Acrostic using the device of Internal rhyme. I had trouble getting in the internal rhyme, but here is my poem:

Elinor is my trusted mother all my life.
Love is all she talks about when
I visit her in the memory care center.
Now she doesn’t even remember I was there,
Or have any idea when I will visit again.
Really all she knows now is a moment and then it’s gone.

I’m fairly new at writing poetry. I just decided to give it a try with the Writing 201: Poetry course over the last two weeks of February. Let me know what you think, and comments are appreciated.

Writing 201: Poetry – Journey
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Writing 201: Poetry – Journey

Assignment #2 has a word prompt of Journey to be written in the form of a Limerick using the device of Alliteration. So here is mine:

Germany is a journey to enjoy that I would choose.
Flying overnight to Europe offers time for a snooze.
Oh, I am so excited …
so much fun …
now that we’re both booked aboard a Viking River Cruise!

Video

Here are some brief highlights of the 8-day cruise along the Rhine in Germany, which includes Basel (Switzerland),  Breisach (Black Forest), Strasbourg (France), Koblenz, Heidelberg & Rüdesheim, Cologne, Kinderdijk and Amsterdam (The Netherlands).

“Rhine Getaway” on Viking River Cruises – 45 sec

 

We will also be spending several days each visiting Amsterdam, Munich, Salzburg (Austria), Leipzig (wife’s grandmother birthplace), Berlin (nephew and family), as well as several other places. It will be a wonderful 3 weeks, with lots of opportunities for travel and photo blog posts. I welcome any recommendations and suggestions since we’re still finalizing our itinerary and activities.

I’m new at writing poetry. I decided to give it a try with the Writing 201: Poetry course over the last two weeks of February. Let me know what you think, and comments are appreciated.

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Writing 201: Poetry – Water

This is my first attempt at writing poetry. I decided to give it a try with the Writing 201: Poetry course over the last two weeks of February. Assignment #1 was based on a prompt (Water), form (Haiku), and device (simile). So here is my Haiku on Water, but I wasn’t able to include a simile.

I live on a lake,
which is over half empty –
Flood needed to fill!

I was thinking of Lake Travis which is currently only 38% full in our extended severe drought here in central Texas. Actually, this prompted me to go out and take some photos that illustrate how low it is which I will include in another post. I would normally have been under water where I took this photo.
Lake Travis at Cody Park

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Toys For Us

My youngest son, when he was small, always wanted to go to “Toys For Us”.

It was really named “Toys R Us”, but he had the right idea that it meant getting toys for him.

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McDonald Duck

When my son was little, he always wanted to get a happy meal at “McDonald Duck” (better known as just McDonald’s).

I guess it sounded like cartoons on TV, and he probably thought the words went together.

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Mosquito Bites

It’s cute when children try to say complicated words with multiple syllables. I remember when my youngest son, Jonathan, was little (he’s almost 41).

He always called them “Squito-mo-bites” when he was bitten by mosquitos.

Happy 70th Anniversary!
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Happy 70th Anniversary!

This past Monday, Oct 20, was my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary.

Dad died last August, although Mom’s alive but has Alzheimer’s. She doesn’t even know she is married, or even who she is, but somehow she always knows she loves her 5 children, even though she doesn’t recognize that her husband has been gone for several years now.

It’s sad, but they had a happy life together, including the last years before he went to the nursing home after a fall and never recovered.

Elinor Warren

“Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!”