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On the day we found out, a poem by Rebecca Hill

On the day we found out
We surrounded you,
A protective barrier like soldiers shielding their general.
We hoped to keep you here with us, safe,
But as I watched you digest the news, Alzheimer’s disease,
I saw a battle of strength, anger, disbelief and shock
Struggle within you. 
But on your face was what I’ve always known,
That you were the strong one,
The rock that kept this circle of family viable.
And so you continued to fight. 
Now years later,
You drift farther away from our shore.
Your voice faint from where we stand on the shoreline.
You are so far from us that
We no longer distinguish the person you used to be
From the person you are now,
Drifting and bobbing on the water,
A warrior’s death, waiting for only the torch.
Your anchor no longer tethered to our ship.

— by Rebecca Hill


Bio: Rebecca Hill is a freelance writer who has published some poetry over her lifetime.