These poems were recently written by Nereida Corujo, a client of our Foundation and the caregiver for her husband, affected by Alzheimer's disease for many years before he transitioned.
If you read the poems closely, you will notice that various elements allude to dementia. As an example, the second poem, Confused, reads 'I ran to the mirror to try and see my reflection, but to my surprise, my figure did not appear', and a common symptom of dementia in the moderate and severe stages is mirrored-self misidentification, characterized by the inability to recognize one's own reflected image.
The poems were originally written in Spanish, Nereida Corujo's mother tongue, and translated by our Foundation so they could reach more of our supporters. Nevertheless, rhythm in poetry always gets lost in translation, and there are some cultural differences that influenced the writer's original choice of words. For this reason, if you wish to read the poems in Spanish, you can find them on this very same page by switching the language at the top of our page.
The Meeting
Confused
Twins
A Poem About Alzheimer's