Reason For Clarity

We have a collective memory still Encoded in the body's text Beyond the bland spate of tatoos And meaningless calligraphy of the skin We in ourselves carry that history Inscribed in cloth and song Uncontested as some commune In their apologetics for wrong. We carved wood to ensure Distinctions as atoms make When neutrons define in every lake Of visions shifting dunes, a set record No fire could burn, and time could not erase By the substitute and strategy of the tongue Your Alzheimer was your private burden I always knew who you were And even clearer, who I am.