This poem is written in the voice of a person recently diagnosed with dementia.
I Wonder
I sit alone with my thoughts, pondering the news I’ve been given,
I wonder how my life will change and how long I have left to live it.
I wonder if the ones I love will always know how much,
So I’ll tell them every day ’til then and hope that it’s enough.
I wonder who will take care of me as I get worse and worse,
I wonder but I don’t worry, because I have a few years of course.
I wonder what I will do when I can’t remember a thing (Reisberg, Ferris, Leon, & Crook, 1982),
Will I love the things I love today – to talk, laugh, love and sing?
I wonder what I’ll wonder then or if I’ll wonder at all,
If I’ll know that the life I led was a good one all in all.
5 Comments
October 10, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Hey Crissa I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed reading your poem! I really felt the perspective of someone with dementia. Grat Job!
October 10, 2006 at 11:09 pm
I think your poem is beautiful! Great job conveying the emotion of a person with dementia.
October 13, 2006 at 8:32 am
1. What voice is the poem in? The poem is in the client’s voice.
2. Who is the piece written for? I think that the piece has been written for anyone who is interested in dementia or in poetry. I really liked it.
3. What do you think the author is saying with this piece? I think the author is saying, that he is afraid and uncertain about his future. I think that he is optimistic about how many good years he has left.
4. Find something specific in each piece that you can “bless.” You might like the originality of an idea, a particular word used, whatever. I really like how you talk about the client’s thoughts at the time of just being diagnosed. I really think that this gives the audience a lot of perspective.
5. Find something specific in each piece that the author should “address.” Make this something that will actually improve the quality of the piece…your group mates are counting on you to help them make their work stronger. “I wonder what I will do when I can’t remember a thing,
Will I talk, laugh, sing, love – the things I do today?” I think maybe you could ask I wonder how I will act when I can’t remember a thing
Will I love the things I love today – to talk laugh love and sing
October 15, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Voice: This poem is written by someone who was recently diagnosed with dementia.
Audience: It was written for family and friends so they could better understand how the author is feeling about this situation.
Say Back: The author is saying she’s concerned about how dementia is going to change her life. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen to her, and she’s worried.
Bless: I love your consistency with the words “I Wonder.” It really pulls the whole poem together and makes for a really strong message about what the author is feeling.
Address: I’m not sure about the use of the words “of course” in the 3rd stanza. I read the whole thing out loud and those words just seemed kind of awkward to me. I feel like I’m being really nitpicky lol, but please know that I love your poem! It was really hard for me to find anything I wanted to address!
December 13, 2007 at 9:28 am
I thought this poem was very good. And i like the perspective of the person telling her story of whats going on, but letting it unravel through each line. Very good! =)