Our writing springs from our lives. As a nurse, I dealt, for the most part, with the elderly and dying. Many of my patients had Alzheimer’s or similar forms of dementia. When I participated in the PAD Poetry Challenge, one of the prompts was to write a love poem. This one didn’t make my final cut, but I thought I’d put it out there. Real love endures all the many losses associated with aging.
“Sweet Romance”
I can’t forget those eyes–
silver-blue like
meadow flowers
that looked into mine,
pierced my soul.
Your touch,
velvet smooth,
sparked shivers,
fire in the core of my body.
The heady scent,
lily of the valley,
flooded the room
when you walked in.
Sweet as honey,
the taste of you
lingers.
Flowing from your lips
each word you spoke hangs
like a note of music
fills my head
with haunting melody.
Where do you hide?
Your body a husk
of who you used to be.
You finger the fringe of
a shawl wrapped around
fragile shoulders.
You look at me
but don’t remember
who I am.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 