I Will Remember for You:
How your smile gave me courage when you taught me to drive.
How you walked like a five-foot giant on the tip of your toes.
How we prayed to make it home on $1’s worth of gas.
How you rubbed Ivory Soap on my leaking gas tank to stop the flow.
How you encouraged me when my hopes of a job promotion were dashed.
How you cupped my cheek when my life had gone wrong.
How you found solutions when I had none.
As you sleep like an innocent babe with vanished memories, I will remember for you—a kind, beautiful soul who is in this world but no longer part of it.
Time can be sweet but also a bastard.
Dementia–the cruelest bastard of all.
Sherland Peterson attended City College of New York for her master’s degree in creative writing and was a finalist in the Frederick Douglass contest for short stories. She is a member of the Durham, NC Writers Group, and has written radio plays and performed several monologues. A Love Song for Wash is her debut poem.
This is a wonderful poignant meditation on how small gestures impact us in an immeasurable way. Kudos
Ms. Peterson is a very talented writer, and this piece further demonstrates her gift for subtle, deft conveyance of deep expression using subtle images.