Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

(For Diane and Judy)

There is something I forgot;
A name, though I still know
Most faces or perhaps a word.
I misplace faces, names and words
Pronounced until they vanish, 
Disappearing in caverns…
There are many empty, dark places.

Do you remember that early September
By the lake?  We water skied
And watched for bears while picking
Berries. On the north shore, geese
Gathered to feed before migrating.
At night the moon was enormous
And solid, catching our shadows

Deep within the silence
Until our shadows released themselves.
On the porch in pine scented air
We read Geography III or was it
House of Light to one another,
Attending each intertwined word as
Lovers embracing words as our own.

Do you remember the mornings
When the earth colors deepened
In the smell of coffee, and the autumn
Color of trees? “No tree resembles
Another,” you said, and I said the same 
Of flowers emerging from their sheaths
In the morning air. . . in the morning air. . .

There is something I forgot that I wanted
To tell you; something I have misplaced.
Do not close your eyes.  Hold me tightly
Against the dark before I fade. . . you fade
Into the narrow spaces of distinct silences. 
We took our beauty in words and in embrace. . .
There is something I forgot. . .


Approximately 7.2 million Americans live with Alzheimer's Disease.
Approximately 772,000 Canadians live with Alzheimer's Disease.

For information on Alzheimer's Disease in the States go to:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350447

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9164-alzheimers-disease

To contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's Disease, please go to:   Alzheimer's Association® https://donorservices.alz.org

For information and to donate in Canada, please go to:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/dementia.html

https://alzheimer.ca/en

Books referenced in the poem:
Geography III by Elizabeth Bishop
House of Light by Mary Oliver

Memory and Loss © 2025 Charles van Heck
Untilted Photograph © 2025 Charles van Heck