19/05/2026
When I am older
I might not remember
I might get confused
And I might lose my temper
And there may be times
When I don’t know your name
Because it’s been trapped,
Locked away in my brain
And though it will hurt
To think I could forget you
Offer me smiles,
Hold my hand if I’ll let you
And talk of adventures
We had long ago
Show me the photos
Of people I know
Play music we’ve danced to
And songs we have sung
Read me the books I read
When I was young
‘Cause your voice and your words
Might just be the key
That opens the door -
That unlocks it for me
And maybe the music
Will spark tiny embers
Of memories dormant
And I will remember
Your name and your face
And the words to our song
The times and the places
To which I’ve belonged
And it might last moments
Or minutes or more
As the fire sheds light
Through the crack in the door
But when the door closes
And gone are the flames
When you are once more
A stranger again
Just know you’ll have stirred something
Deep down inside
Something familiar
That I recognise
Something that’s real
That’s not stored in my head
But right at the core
Of my heart space instead
Something that’s stirred
By your smiles and your stories
The touch of your hand
And the songs you sing for me
And though I’ll have no words to tell you
Just trust
That deep down inside
I’ll remember
I’m loved
*******
Becky Hemsley 2022
Beautiful artwork by
Today marks the start of Dementia Action Week - an annual campaign run by Alzheimer's Society to raise awareness of ways we can work together to take action on dementia.
This poem is called Embers and Keys and is in the book 'Letters from Life'
