Midweek Meditation: "An Alzheimer's Request"

This particular posting is a reminder that empathy is preferred, not sympathy. For true caring comes when we are able to empathize with the person we care about. Next time we meet someone with Alzheimer's, try to listen more and talk less. For some of us, who knows. We may be the very people who need others to understand us when we ourselves get Alzheimer's.

An Alzheimer's Request (Poem by Owen Darnell)

Do not ask me to remember
Don't try to make me understand
Let me rest and know you're with me
Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I'm confused beyond your concept
I'm sad and sick and lost
All I know is that I need you
To be with me at all cost.

Please do not lose your patience with me
Do not scold me or curse or cry
I can't help the way I'm acting
I can't be different though I try.

Just remember that I need you
And the best of me is gone
Please don't fail to stand beside me
And love me till my life is done.

conrade