Overcoming Alzheimer’s

    by Kate Van Pelt DeLoach

The misunderstanding is over now —

people calling her crazy

out of earshot, then not,

as if she weren’t there.

Thoughts unsaid — incapable

of coherently connecting

as words — forced to stay

in her head.

Maybe she wanted cobbler

when she was fed custard;

maybe she wanted a bath

instead of a shower, or to sit

in the sun a little longer than the rest.

She’s no longer the caretakers’ doll —

moved, dressed and propped up.

She kicked back on her heels,

spun so fast she ignited the air,

whirred up and out of there, like

the sensational soul she was born as —

like the freed spirit she now is.

© 2015  Kate Van Pelt DeLoach

Kate Van Pelt DeLoach is from Virginia Beach, Va., and currently lives in Andersonville, Ga., with her husband, several horses, dogs and a barn cat. She is a freelance writer, editor and graphic designer; she also publishes a local newsletter, Kudzu Weekly.