Nouns will go first—
titles, for
example—
Tess of the d’Urbervilles
will fail
to arrive on your
tongue, though
you might envision
a dark
red straw-
berry
or a monolith
of Stonehenge.
Thomas Hardy will go next.
You will not
recall the words
azalea
or rhododendron.
Eventually
you will not remember
your name.
Even grace
will abandon you.