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Being and Nothingness

He awakes and listens for the clamor of the city only to find he cannot hear. He gets up to find he cannot speak, and the silence is deafening. He still sees the world in all its peaceful beauty, until it all goes black. The smell of breakfast cooking slithers up his nose and disappears. Struggling in confusion he longs for restitution, but then... the faces of his children, the whisper of the leaves, the scent of fresh cut grass, the softness of a woman's skin the flavor of fresh strawberries forsake his memory.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2016




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Date: 2/23/2016 11:55:00 PM
Keith, the first half of this poem reminds me of Metallica's song 'One'. I remember reading a story about a nurse who worked with a Dementia patient. His disease was advanced. One day out of the blue, he looks at her and says 'I want my life back'. A few minutes later he was gone again.
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Date: 2/22/2016 6:54:00 PM
A gripping piece on the slow and painfully tragic loss of the senses, culminating in the final loss of memory. The lines are intense, piercing the reader's soul with the experience of eventually losing "being".
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Keith Bickerstaffe
Date: 2/22/2016 8:12:00 PM
Thank you for your most insightful review! I am most grateful. Best wishes, Keith

Book: Reflection on the Important Things