One of the most difficult tasks I have as a hospital-based doctor is to assess an individual’s capacity to make decisions for themselves when they are suffering from dementia. When someone lacks this capacity it is sometimes necessary to place them in supported care (e.g. rest home or private hospital) against their will which can be harrowing for both ‘the patient’ and for me.
Photo by Diana Alsindy (Dianablography@wordpress.com)
White hair frames her face riddled with effort.
The blue sea of her hospital gown spattered with egg and oatmeal archipelagoes.
It’s 1964 (it’s not).
I’m her husband (I’m not)
come to take her home again (never again).
She’s lived in that house for more than a lifetime, she says. Planted all the roses.
Her mind is a boat listing badly—
I consign her to the sea.
Two Hemispheres Poetry 