when the mind I had
curls up and can’t configure
time and surroundings
or put a date on my
day, a big black door hides
purpose and joy and the
name of the lady in the next
chair, my veins are knots of
lost blue memories,
to remain so in a bleak infinity,
I feel my identity evaporate and
I have to face the endless
retreat into confusion
__________________________
James is an Australian poet published in the Australian Poetry Anthology 2017.At 73, he wonders a lot about decline and death. Observing his mother’s last days, he wanted to ask what she was experiencing. But it was too late for her to explain anything.
To view more from this author pick up a copy of the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of The Stray Branch.