By Sheila Neylon, (caregiver to her husband Tom – Tom Neylon taught secondary English for 41 years. He played piano in several bands. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of American Roots music. He was an indefatigable collector of LPs and CDs. Alzheimer’s stole everything from Tom and stole him from us. I wrote some poems when he was in hospice care as a kind of care for myself. We were married for 55 years. He was officially diagnosed in 2015 and died May 2, 2023.
Loss
I lost him twice
First his illness ravaged his mind
All the things which form a life
Abandoned him
Slowly, slowly
Reflection, memory, humor, love.
And then the illness ravaged his body
I could not help him —
In the end I lost
My husband and my best friend
La Perte
Je l’ai perdu deux fois—
Première la maladie a ravagé son esprit
Toutes les choses qui font une vie
l’a abandonné,
lentement, lentement.
réflexion, mémoire, humour, amour E
t puis la maladie a ravagé son corps
moi, je n’ai pas pu l’aider—
À la fin j’ai perdu
mon mari et mon meilleur ami