She’d wandered away again.
Rain pelted sidewise,
passersby doggedly plodded forward.
Uncooperative umbrellas flipped inside out.
She was invisible to them.
Sopping hair plastered her head,
clothes adhered to her skin
like shrink wrap over packaged chicken.
Three miles away,
her caregivers were frantic.
De is hosting Quadrille Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. We’re to write a poem of exactly 44 words (sans title) and include the word “dog” within the body of the poem. We may use a form of the word or a word that includes the word “dog” within it….hence “doggedly” in my poem. AI image generated on Bing Create.
lillian the home poet 
Doggedly is a great word, Lill, but I wonder why there isn’t a feline form, such as ’cattedly’. The way you describe the rain made me feel soaked through – and I know what it’s like when someone with dementia goes missing.
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hmmmm the first word that comes to mind that includes cat is catatonic! I’ve always been one to enjoy making up wordalicious words 🙂 Perhaps you should write a cat post or poem that is not a catastrophe but rather a catterful wonder! 🙂
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That made me smile, Lill. A future word for the quadrille, perhaps.
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Maybe because cattedly would just mean sleeping… 🤔
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😊
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This is such a sad state with persons running off like that.
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Yes….my pen went to a sadder place this time.
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Was it something specific that brought this to mind?
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A sad scenario, Lill. And all too common, I imagine. You depict it well.
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Thank you…yes, forever whatever reason my pen just glided into sad today.
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A sad quadrille, today
Thanks for dropping by my blog
much love
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Sometimes my pen weeps on the page….
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Very well done, Lillian!
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Thank you!
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love to all in this situation.
beautifully presented honouring of those with this horrid condition
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It is a horrid condition….and one that family and friends can only watch the individual disappear while their body is still there.
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I almost opted for ‘dogged’ myself, Lillian. Gritty situation, wonderfully shared. Thanks
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Yes….for some reason my pen decided to weep today….and go with, as you say, a gritty situation far too many families find themselves in.
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Ugh, I experience dementia with my friend’s father. Quite a serious subject well evoked i this poem, bravo👏
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Great piece – your simile ‘like shrink wrap over packaged chicken’ is striking, it heightens the raw vulnerability, almost objectifying the person in that moment🙌
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Such a sad story that I am sure has been replayed many times.
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I love your use of the word doggedly, Lillian. It’s a sad story I fear we will hear more about in the years to come.
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This is heartbreaking, Lill! I remember my mom-in-law, who had Alzheimer’s had once wandered off from the apartment and we were frantic. Thankfully we found her two floors down.
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Oh, MAN. The realization in that last stanza really hit me in the gut, Lill. Whew. So well told.
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Your poem clutched my heart. The details are so very real… like the clothes clinging to her skin like shrink wrap. I’d love to know her backstory.
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So sad, Lillian. Clothes clinging to her skin made it more so.
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This really comes alive with its evocative imagery and senses engaged, I have know people in her circumstance too.
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