Hard Up For Memory

A Poem

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

Forgetting was never
my favourite pastime
but now
like tissue wiping
away the face
the numbers begin
their climb
I never did
anything like keep
a faithful record
I had a memory
at one time
Leaving so much
on the sides of the road
the tearing off
of the van door
the way my father
might squint when he
used to laugh
the merciful whispers
before and after
How many beds now
lie in their ruins
of mental insufficiency…