lethe
They sit patiently and wait
Until you are in a deep sleep
Then they sprint in quietly
Ten tiny wrinkled men with
Long beards and big ears
Drills and flat head shovels
They make their way to the
Top of your head to begin the
Nightly memory excavation
They drill they dig they scoop
Searching for exquisite perfect gems
To stuff into their bags and drag away
Like the day you got your two wheeler
The sore throat from a tonsillectomy
A tall glass of cold green Kool Aid
The Monday in middle school
When he asked you to the dance
Your highschool valedictorian speech
Your first good paying job
The day you were married
Your first house the dog
Your first born and second
Your mother
father sister
husband
They keep drilling digging scooping
Until the first light sneaks through the curtain
They stitch you up pack up and drag those gems away.
Bastards.
7 thoughts on "lethe"
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Nice
Unexpected ending! Well done.
Amazing, Wendy!
Wonderful poem! Loved it!
A fairytale-like style to describe the horror of what must be Alzheimer’s – a litany of memories lost forever. Exquisitely sad. And I love the angry last line!! So well done!
Those tiny wrinkled me — good metaphor. Good poem.
And I like your “picture.” Makes it easy to find you!
Men, not me!