WHEN THE HEART NO LONGER SINGS

WHEN THE HEART NO LONGER SINGS

“When the mind longs to follow but the memory erases 

And the lips form the words but the heart no longer sings”  *

When we look at you we wonder

Just where you are today ?

We want to stay and talk with you

But don’t know what to say.

We remember oh so much of you,

Of the things you said and did.

The love and laughter you shared,

The tears you often hid.

You were different people to all of us

Wife and Mother to some.

Friend and cheery neighbour,

But now what have you become?

A shadow of your former self,

An empty shell  ~ still cherished

But for you it is all so different ~

All sense and memory perished!

An increased forgetfulness,

Something said which is not quite right

A constant repeating of something

We have heard seven times tonight.

It’s not the physical slowing

That causes us such pain

It’s the misting of the eyes

When memory fails again.

It bothers us so very much

When you forget to shower,

That you cannot even remember

Which has been your favourite flower.

Odd socks and shoes

And three dresses on in the morning !

A blank and distant look

Which gives to us a warning.

For us the saddest thing of all

Is that you barely know

How very much we love you

And we wonder why it’s so.

You were kind and loving

And generous to your core.

It brings to us great comfort

To open memory’s door.

We look into your clouded eyes

And your confused expression see,

It breaks our hearts to see you thus –

But we have memory.

We recall your smile, your touch

The days when life was grand.

We love you and we remember

And accept the way it is planned.

© Linda J. Vaughan

* Words by Buddy Sheffield