Mary's Eyes

The following poem is about Mary, a woman well into her 90's living in Seaside, Oregon

Mary’s Eyes I do not see her as often as I use to, Mary broke a leg, required therapy, Mary has Alzheimer’s, She does not remember breaking her leg, the time of day, or the weather…is it sunny or gray, or that it’s me. I am not offended that Mary does not remember me, She has good reason, just the other day, She asked her daughter, Cheryl, “Where are we going?” Cheryl replied with a little giggle under her breathe … “To the brink, Mother, to the brink!” However, what she really said was: “To the bathroom mother, to the bathroom!” Not long ago I saw Mary at a function, Walked up to her, Took her hand, Said “Hi Mary” She looked frightened, Mary looked beyond my eyes, I could not tell for sure how far she could see, Or, on the other hand, what she saw. Mary turned her head to Cheryl and said, “Who is this strange person?” I was not offended. I have often, been referred to, by even my dearest of friends as ‘very strange.’ “Dan, Mother, its Dan! Don’t you remember, we see him all the time at Riley’s” (A watering hole in Seaside, Oregon) Mary had a slight glimmer in her eyes and asked Cheryl, “What is Riley’s?” As if on cue, Cheryl and I smiled, rolled our eyes, we understood.