her mental faculties
once sharp as a tack
had suffered
a most insidious attack

bit by bit
as the months went by
those many recollections
in her brain did die

her husband watched
her slowly deteriorate
at the end she couldn't even
open the front gate

she was losing
her mental capabilities
her yesterdays eaten away
by time's unkind insensitivities

those many brain cells
ceasing to function well
her mind became
a most depleted shell

not a thing could be retained
or kept for an hour
her mind was ebbing
and failing in power