The descent into Hell is propelled by a well-intentioned shove
This is my mother.
A nice lady. Everyone likes her.
She lives in a retirement home.
Yesterday it was a cruise ship.
Tomorrow we don’t know exactly,
Because whatever it is
It will still look like her home.
Dementia fills her world
With lovely people
In interesting places.
This is my father.
He lives with my mother.
He is the “responsible adult.”
He makes fun of Mom’s
Imaginary friends.
He likes to remind his son
How worthless his son is,
How failed his son is,
How badly his son drives,
How smart-ass and stupid his son is.
This is my wife.
She loves me lots and LOTS.
I love her lots and LOTS.
She is the center of my universe.
Last night she told me
YOU ARE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER
And now there is a hole in my universe
Where my life used to be.
I think I am done now.
