Poetry – A Stroke in the Head

A Stroke in the Head

Part of me died,

I don’t remember what.

Inside is a void

That used to hold a lot.

It left me with a fear

Of what will surely be.

There’s an acid here

That is eroding me.

It’s taking me by bits

Blotting out the where,

The jig-saw puzzle fits

Now transparent as the air.

My brain’s becoming cheese

Full of mighty holes

Through which there is a breeze

Where memory now lolls.

There’s a cold spot

In my sun

That’s no longer hot

And isn’t any fun.

I’m moved to helpless tears

And dreadful wondering when;

The unrelenting fears

That it will happen again.

It’s the beginning of the end

The start of the decay.

Like losing a close friend –

I’m falling away.

There are holes in this rigging

That the wind blows through.

I’ll need some rejigging –

More than a patch or two.

It’s robbed me of confidence

And dumped me on the floor.

No longer rushing hence,

Not going out the door.

There’s a new void in my head

That’s made me wonder why.

It’s filled me with heavy lead.

All I do is sigh.

13.7.2015

A Stroke in the Head

I work up from a dream last night and this was in my head. I was left wondering if it was an omen?

I don’t believe in omens or portents. This was probably my conscious response to the frustration of getting older. You feel your body and mind slow, robbed of energy. The words that once shot into your mind now languish on the periphery and have to be rounded up like stray steer.

It is like your brain is now full of tiny holes, as if acid was slowly burning it away.

Getting older is not pleasant. You just do what you have to do. The alternative is not attractive.