To the editor:

This poem appeared within a funeral notice in a different newspaper. It had no title and the author, unknown. With our family’s experience with dementia, the poem’s sentiment could have helped ease our way through the “long goodbye” periods.

I wish to share this poem through the Brown County Democrat. It seemed fitting for the poem to be titled, so I took the liberty to name it “The Care Givers Solace.” I am taking no credit for the poem’s construction or message.

The Care Givers Solace

Don’t ask me to remember

Don’t try to make me understand

Let me rest and know you’re with me

Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I’m confused beyond your concept

I’m sad and sick and lost

All I know is that I need you

To be with me at all costs.

Don’t lose your patience with me

Don’t scold or curse or cry

I can’t help the way I’m acting

Can’t be different ‘though I try.

Just remember that I need you

That the best of me is gone

Please don’t fail to stand beside me

Love me ‘til my life is done.

— Author unknown —

Sincerely,

Larry W. Ebersole, Nashville