Mum, you’re incoherent

You sleep an awful lot

You twitch and jerk when you’re asleep

You’re not sure where you’re at

Let’s wheel, wheel, wheel you back in time

To the golden years when you were in your prime

Mum, we’ve brought in carers

You can’t go out alone

You cannot even write your name

We’ve still a way to go

Let’s shuffle, shuffle, shuffle back in time

To the golden years when you were in your prime

Mum you like to watch TV

But can’t follow the plot

You struggled on our Scottish break

We’ve not reached that place yet

Let’s hobble, hobble, hobble back in time

To the golden years when you were in your prime

Mum, we’re playing dominoes

But Scrabble you can’t hack

Snakes and ladders even is too much

We must travel further back

Let’s totter, totter, totter back in time

To those golden years when you were in your prime

Mum. you are repeating

The same words again and again

We need to go still further back

To find your intact brain

Let’s saunter, saunter, saunter back in time

To those golden years when you were in your prime

Mum you’re always losing

Your glasses, bag or purse

Frustrated, you keep saying

“My memory’s getting worse.”

Let’s amble, amble, amble back in time

To those golden years when you were in your prime

Mum, I think we’re almost there

You’re beating me at Scrabble

You’re nagging me with your advice

And you’re reading Margaret Drabble

Let’s race, race, race to embrace this time

These golden years, when you are in your prime