Dementia

I watched you drown
years deep
beneath murky memories, plexiglas regrets
and unspoken fears;

as rotted roots and mental mulch mercilessly dragged at your limbs
though without invitation, insidiously insistent;
entitled by mere chemistry.

I watched you forget the common place from one moment to the next
A desperate  manic glean to your eye as you fought for SELF recognition
moment to moment...
your mirror broken...

and I watched you
grip a quarter inch of straw above the water line
to tell me you love me
your eyes daring me to forget
what you knew you would in moments...

the message delivered
your momentary peace found
until the need for shoes confounded you once more.