The singer/songwriter wrote,
“You’re the last person I’ll
love/You’re the last person
I will recall/And best of all/
I’m not gonna miss you.”
I would have added, “at all,”
for rhythm and rhyme, but I’m
not the one with Alzheimer’s.
His wife tears as she thinks
about that song, which might
win the Oscar for the man who
now couldn’t care less. Right
now, I’m thinking about him
saying, “I’m gonna be O.K.
You’re the one who’s gonna
have a hard time.” I want to
say, “It’s not sublime,” for
rhythm and rhyme but I’m
not the one with Alzheimer’s.
He’s right. Twenty-two
years of having a hard time —
he’s right. While he knows
less and less, we suffer on
and on — damn loving
memory. But then, thank
God, in present time
for the past, for loving
moments, now and then
(and I get to add) “while they
last,” for rhythm and
rhyme.