bob bradshaw

Alzheimer's


I close the blinds, darken the house.
Suddenly Dad stands, as if
remembering an appointment.

He rushes out of the house
as if a taxi had pulled to the curb
to take him to the airport.

Sometimes I pull up next to him on a road.
Dad, do you want a ride home?

"Who are you?" he asks.

Will I find myself one day
wandering south?

When I misplace a pair of scissors
or forget to lower the heat on a burner

will the sun pull me towards Florida?

Will language become a white noise?

Will my children become strangers
tugging at me? Will my husband
become a nurse serving meds on a tray?

Where will I turn when everyone
is a stranger? What
will I do, but try to find a road

to lead me safely home?


Bob is a programmer living in California. He is a big an of the Rolling Stones and easy times. Recent work of his can be found at Chantarelles Notebook, Thick with Conviction, Raving Dove, Mississippi Review and Pedestal Magazine.