Dementia

One by one the lights are going out
Randomly, haphazardly,
In the rooms and chambers,
Corridors and passageways,
Upstairs and down –
Candles and chandeliers,
LEDs, neon tubes and halogen bulbs,
Flicker, and one by one are dimmed,
Leaving a darkened, shadowy space;
And you stumble blindly
In places you know you ought to know,
Trip over thresholds,
Bump into walls and closed doors,
Grope clumsily and reach out
Stretching your hands to touch and feel
What has disappeared from sight.
Displaced and lost its name.
Bewildered, disoriented,
Uncomfortable, discomfited,
You falter in the unfamiliar familiar,
As one by one
The lights
Go out
In your
Mind.
No guide.
You are
Alone
In
This
Labyrinth
Of
Living
Death
…