yesterday a shadowy memory
tomorrow unimaginable
there is only the intensity of now
stuck in the present moment

past experience unretrievable
and unavailable in creating one’s future
thus stuck in the eternal present
necessarily filled with questions

answers: you are at home
where we live husband and wife
together for fifty years
now elders to a younger generation

we humans carrying on our Earth journey
closer to its end than its beginning
Cosmic Love reigns Supreme: we remain
grateful, in awe of the mystery, hopeful

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
December 18, 2021

Author’s note: The poem reflects my experience caring for my beloved wife with
Alzheimers. As memories become murky and unreliable and the future
unimaginable, the present is filled with questions and takes on a new intensity of
being stuck in the present. What remains is love, gratitude, awe, and hope on the
journey.

photo by author
‘Gulfview Heights Beach on the Gulf of Mexico, 2017’