Posts Tagged ‘poetry and Alzheimers’

It was time for a “holiday tea” for the “Advanced Stage Alzheimer’s Unit”. We set the table with a colorful table cloth and special dishes. Each one had a special place. My artist friend and I talked naturally about many Christmas memories, as we watched quickened glances, and even a few sparse comments. We do not always know what is understood or heard. As we finished our tea we wrote limericks.

There once was a lady named Jane
Who walked outside in the rain
It started to snow
And the wind did blow
So she went in the house again

Our limericks were configured by the artists in healthcare who were present. Those with Alzheimer’s were very engaged in hearing the rhythms and helping with the rhyming.

Five dementia residents were circled around me. I read some poetry and stopped on the rhyming lines to see if they could fill in the words. A couple of them blurted the words out easily. The others enjoyed the rhythm and sounds. “Let’s write our own rhyming poem,” I said. Let’s come up with a topic. Out of the blue, Eva leaned over to me and said “Did you know that I didn’t used to wear shoes. I couldn’t because my feet would swell.” I grabbed at the line and wrote it down. “ Let’s try to come up with a rhyming line,” I said. We ended up going around the circle talking about what each person liked or didn’t like to wear. It was personal and stimulating. They loved it.

A Poem about Clothes

Eva couldn’t at one time wear shoes.
Her feet would swell… what could she do?
She cannot wear a woolen sweater.
She wears cotton instead… that’s even better.
Ann likes to wear shirts that are red.
“I won’t wear black” she said, shaking her head.
Mary likes to wear a white sweater
And wearing blue is even better.
Rosie doesn’t like to wear scratchy clothes.
It causes itching on skin and nose.
Thelma likes wearing a plain old dress.
A bright and pretty dress… oh yes!