Therapeutic Lying

If you’re older and somehow not dying, Yet live with dementia or worse, Prepare to be hit with some lying Before your last ride in a hearse. This strategy’s gaining approval As nursing homes struggle to cope With patients whose memory removal Deprives them of reasons to hope. So little white lies are suggested Like, “Your husband will visit real soon” Since the truth often can’t be digested And no time will be quite opportune. Or, “Let’s visit the nursery; maybe You’ll help rock your child to sleep,” Where a doll substitutes for the baby Which remains where the memories keep. If deception brings comfort, I wonder Why, to me, it just doesn’t feel right Reaching into one’s psyche to plunder What the mind has kept tucked out of sight.