Correspondence

Alzheimer's 1, Tom nil

N Engl J Med 1999; 340:323January 28, 1999

Article

(After extra time)

Years of getting it together, fretted, gone,

skills turned to dust, retrieval system spent;

the fabric of his life beyond repair.

With no there, there, his here and now's a blank,

a game of dice — with all the dots rubbed off.

Where every move's a guess, each guess mere chance.

Knees touching chest, Tom's real is now his bed,

the dry, the moist, the crumples hold him close;

the shredding that is day, laid off for night.

Shirley Willsher
159 Knightlow Rd., Harborne,, Birmingham B17 8PY, United Kingdom