An Elegy to thy Memory, Father

This poem is inspired by the story of my father and I. He is now 81 and has Alzheimer's disease.

An Elegy to thy Memory, Father

In thy existence, a man He bestows,
An invincible figure, as mighty as bellows,
Endowed with prudence, wisdom and astuteness,
Bequeathed to steer thy path towards uprightness.

There was a moment, the gift faltered,
Breaking the chain, left wrecked and shattered,
Every link besieged with immense animosity,
Living stones, cold, bitter, numbed by enmity.

In the midst of achieving epiphany,
There’s no room for absolution and clemency,
For now, as thou rest on that elaborate lumber,
No kind of memoir could make thee remember.

For thy health has turned against thee, as well,
Subtly stealing thy reminiscence, as thou fell,
As I sit with thee, for thee, I am a stranger,
But a voice inside wishes that thou would remember,
That I am thy son and thou art my father.

photo from here