The wind was so wild - manic, uncontrollable.
The sky was that peculiar mix of
Navy blue shot with sulphurous yellow
That comes just before a thunderstorm or heavy shower.
Half a rainbow arced into the chaos as
branches cracked, leaves flew like demented spirits,
and litter spiralled insanely into the black void.
I helped you out of the car; and as I
closed the door, you stood,
entranced with the reflection
Of yourself in the darkling glass.
Your astonished face looked back at you
And you turned to me in amazement.
All I could see in the glass were images
Of darkness and chaos,
Wildly thrashing black trees
And roiling clouds racing across
a turbulent sky.
You obviously wondered who on earth was this
Old woman peering out of the car window;
You didn't see the turbulent reflections behind
That fragile figure. Or perhaps you did,
And were baffled by the storm around her head.
I looked into your eyes and I saw
that storm behind them,
within you.
You were trying so hard to see through it -
but for you there was no saving rainbow
In the darkness. Just storm damage
that went on,
and on.
Copyright © 2001 Judith Scott
Used with permission of the author.
Judith's mother has advanced Alzheimer's. This
poem and the one on the previous page are from her
collection of poetry, prose and artwork entitled
The Universe of the Mind. In this collection
she expresses the emotions and fears of Alzheimer's
victims in the "alien world", as she describes it,
that they have entered.
Email Judith at: casa36@winsome.fsnet.co.uk
