Alice Bent Over
A gathering of elders
from the local rest home
is out for a walk after dusk
on canes and walkers
admiring roses and lilies
and a pond of rainbow koi
except for Alice trailing
without cane or walker
whose head is bent over
at the neck so she sees
nothing but ants
scurrying around her.
Alice is the letter “L”
upside down forever.
She will never see the sun
light up the sky or the stars
glow in the night or the halo
of moonlight falling around her.
Donal Mahoney
First time the author has ever seen not one but two people with a disability called Dropped Head Syndrome. It is not something ever forgets.
