I love this poet! he is our poet laureate for 2004, i think.......and i put it here, so more can see it! enjoy it!

Forgetfulness

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even
forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

- Billy Collins

[wi_fighter]

i totally identify with it. it is sooooo frustrating!!

[Dolfin]

I'm not as seasoned as some other members, but I totally relate to this poem. Thanks for sharing!

(((((Pat)))))

Dolfin

[SeptemberMorn]

Great poem!

Sometimes, it's good to forget some things and just relax and enjoy the "now."

[Schatze]

Faye & SM,

[SeptemberMorn]

Out in the garden? Is this what they mean when they say "Take time to smell the roses"? It's one of the great benefits of being "mature," ya know!

[darkeyes]

Wow! I loved reading this poem, thanks so much for sharing it, there is so much truth and reality to this.
Memory, and memory loss is and always will be a topic that even science hasn't yet unraveled.
I wish we could have "memory chips" hooked in to our brains, holding all that we wish never to forget.
Till that day comes, sadly we will have to settle for what our individual minds can manage to remember, so many things I find myself forgetting lately and it saddens me.
Funny thing, well to me it was, my grandmother is 95yo, one day she told me when her sisters and her are talking and she doesn't care to talk, she told me she just tells them, "oh I forget. . .", she laughs and said to me, "I really didn't forget, but at 95 I can say that and they will believe me," LOL!!
I said, "grandma, you can use that scheme" but how about someone my age?" LOL!
She said, well that's one of the benefits of getting to my age, 95, people assume a person of that age doesn't remember.
Another moment spent with "gram" to hold in my memory

DE

[jmo531]

Thanks Pat.

[(JD)]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall

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Give.