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Poetry Explication

The poem Alzheimer's was authored by Kelly Cherry who was born in Louisiana at a place

known as Baton Rouge. However, she later relocated to Ithaca in New York. Kelly is an

established author and a poet. In poetry appreciation, every reader has a different background in

poetry understanding, varied experiences, and different education background which implies that

everyone is entitled to have a different interpretation. People who are good in interpreting poems

often focus on understanding the main theme so as to make justified criticism. The poem

Alzheimer by Kelly cherry’s main theme is an ailment. She talks about her father who suffered

from this disease- Alzheimer. Just by reading the title the reader gets a clue of what the poem

entails. Through examining the title, the theme, and lines in the poem, the essay will examine the

effeteness of the poem is presenting the message.

The poem begins with an explanation of the coming back home of the old man. It

portrays the confusion and unawareness that the man is struggling with because of memory loss

caused by Alzheimer. The poem starts with a very soft and calm tone as the old sick man notices

simple things like “the sun is shining” and “sparky flies off.” He has been in the hospital and is

coming back to his wife. However, his return is influenced by his mental conditions that is

described as unstable; at loose ends. This is depicted by the suitcase he carries back home. It has

a somewhat unusual collection of items implying that even before the sickness attacked him, he

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was not always a rational man. The author then familiarizes us with an inventory of the common-

a walkaway he built. The car he used to drive around, sunshine and vines climbing the house

where he lives. The man’s mind is racing as he tries to absorb the things that he sees because he

views them in a totally different way.

From the seventh to the fifteenth line in the poem, the author brings in a tone that is

lighthearted and peace is experienced by both the reader and the sick old man. The man

remembers his music in a very intense manner. It reminds him of what he even used to wear

thereby taking the reader back to journey of self-reflection and memory. He remembers himself

as younger person and gets glimpses of how he perceived music as so important. However,

despite the music being so vital in his life, he knows that other important things have become

more vital. “There is no time for such love now other things have become urgent.” The tone

takes a turn from light to heave because a sense of pity is incorporated by the poet. The old man

feels much dissociated since despite him return home to a place that was once familiar with, he

can barely recognize the woman who greets him at the door. The woman who happens to be his

wife of many years. The man has actually lost his mind but not in a chronological way. During

some moments he gets his childhood memories and while during others, he forgets what he heard

a few minutes ago.

Unfortunately, the poem comes to a conclusion before the old sick man gets a chance to

ask the “unknown woman” who greeted him at the door who she is exactly. His short-term

memory loss causes him pain according to the last few sentences. He was used to his life as a

busy professor and a man of great purpose but now all he can do is figure out who his life partner

is “white-haired woman”. This depicts the challenges that patients suffering from Alzheimer go

through during the recovery process. Throughout the poem, I found some things very depressing

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and quietly disturbing. The fact that the man could remember simple things like “the walkway he

built” “the car he used to drive” and at the same time forget someone as important as his wife

who stands at the doorway to welcome him home after being hospitalized. The most painful part

is that the sick old man is unaware of his health condition, and this not only affects the man, but

the wife also. This is the moment that highlights the actual meaning of the poem and the way

Kelly cherry addressed it. The tone of the poem towards the end portrays the uncertainty. We

feel about the world we are living in because at the beginning things may be lighthearted but

unfortunately end up to sorrow and remorse.

In the poem, Alzheimer by Kelly cherry the poet has made great use of both the tone and

style. These two have succeeded in the process of message delivery. The tone shoes that the

speaker is disappointed because she has to take care of a person that can hardly remember her,

but clearly remembers household items. Line one of the poem syncs very well with the title

because immediately after reading it “a crazy old man” one can tell that the man is suffering

from the above-named disease “Alzheimer”. Therefore, all along the poem the reader is aware of

the condition the man is suffering from and thus the depicted scenarios are just but the after

consequences of the ailment. The style of the poem, however, is that of a free-form because as

one reads one you cannot identify any stanzas, rhyming or alliteration. The speaker also ends her

sentences in the middle of lines. This is clear evidence that the speaker is trying to be normal and

different. In the poem, there are several uses of imagery, like when the speaker talks about what

is in the suitcase and the man’s childhood memories.

The speaker possess varies emotions and attitudes in the course of the poem. Sometimes

she portrays bitterness, frustration and sadness at the same time pity towards her old sick father

because he can’t even remember things that mattered. The speaker uses repetition as a way of

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creating emphasis on something “This woman is, this old, white-haired woman” “A younger

man, in a tweed hat, a man who loved Music. There is no time for that now. No time for music”

(856). Sarcasm has been identifying as Kelly cherry describes the things in the old man’s

suitcase. She refers to the book as that which the old ma pretends to read but never does.

Punctuations in the poem can be described from the different sizes of sentences and how they

end in the middle of the line. The word choice in the poem is very simple but with some phrases,

I had to research more.

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Work Cited

Cherry, Kelly. Alzheimer's. Poetry Foundation. (n.d.). Web. 10 April, 2018.

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