A Sonnet and Two Other New Poems (Words, Dementia, My Son)

The first poem on this page, titled A Mother's Eyes, is my attempt at writing a sonnet. Sonnets are a very old style of formal poetry. Sonnets consist of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme based on the type of sonnet. Two well-known poets famous for sonnets are William Shakespeare and Elizabeth Barret Browning.

A Mother’s Eyes

My son, I look and see how much you’ve grown.

With joy and pride my hopeful heart does swell.

How wonderful to see the seed I’ve sown

Grow up to be a man who lives so well.

A man of honor, loyalty and love,

A man whose beauty shines from deep within,

Of whom even the angels would approve,

Who does his best to shy away from sin.

I watched you as you learned how to be kind.

I held you up as you learned how to run.

I listened as you learned to speak your mind.

I loved you just because you are my son.

And now your manhood I will not despise.

I only see you through a mother’s eyes.

My family is profoundly affected by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. It's something that I fear for my future. This poem reflects those feelings.

Dementia

Small things are disappearing:

The colors of a daughter’s dress,

A first communion,

A wedding, a birth,

Slowly it all fades.

Can’t remember you.

Can’t remember my own name.

Where am I?

Terror creeps in

With things unfamiliar.

Where are all of my loved ones?

Do I have any loved ones?

Did I ever?

Alone in a world filled with people.

Where are my strings?

Words are the most powerful thing we humans have. Words are the expression of thought. They are the beginning and end of our accomplishments and our relationships.

Words

Words are a game

We play to come together

The sounds are soothing and powerful,

Creation and division

Are carried eternally upon their waves

As punishment for arrogance

We get Babel

But to say “I love you”

Creates wings upon which we can fly

Forever-

Words can express truths

Or mask lies

When God speaks,

Things happen

I wonder what you will choose

To say to me.

How will our game be played?