Turning Loose

Do you dream of the young girl who mounted her horse
And sped, on a bright sunny day,
Over the buffalo grass of the plains;
Down where the fat cattle lay?

Are the mem'ries still there, of a day bright and fair,
When your sweetheart whisked you away...
And you make a new life, through depression and strife,
Beating the odds of the day?

For it's all gone away, when I look into your eyes,
And you don't know me anymore.
Afraid to ask, yes, and I rue the day
That you won't return to this shore.

I pray for the men who will fight, who will in,
And flay this monster alive.
Memories sweet will bless all our years,
Just as long as we can survive.

Just this day, or the next, in this era of genius;
Someone is bound to find
What is needed so bad - for the best that I had
To remain always in her mind.

You were fine! You were grand! And, I understand
That you stayed just as long as you could.
Blue eyes, open wide. Find Heaven inside,
Where mem'ry's restored for good!

©Joan Clifton Costner
Daughter of Alzheimer Patient