one day i'll forget the abc's
just as i have forgotten my own name,

& i'll ask my cup of water,
but it won't respond.
i'll curse it.
how rude can one get?
not to answer to their elder?

& it'll fall on the floor,
the plastic making a soft boing as
it bounces onto the tiles.
that's a funny sound.
i giggle.

i'll turn back to the abc's.
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h , i , j, k , l,
i stop. what comes next?
it was the first letter of my name, wasn't it?
round and long, like n, but not...

& i'll look to the left.
there'll be an old lady there,
and i smile when i notice her numerous wrinkles.
thank god i'm not like that.
i wonder what i'm like.
i can't remember my own face anymore.

& my back hurts. & my vision's blurry.
and i still- i can't seem to remember
what comes after L.

& i'll wonder, but i'll get distracted.
i get distracted easily, i find.
i don't know why it's so hard to focus anymore.
it seems that everything's moving too fast.

i watch as a spider crawls across the ceiling.
i think i used to be scared of those.
what's it called? the fear of spiders?
i'm pretty sure i had it.

i reach for my glass of water, but it's gone.
where did it go?
i could have sworn it was right next to me.
i'm thirsty.

and i still can't remember...

what had i forgotten?