I Imagine A Future In Which Alzheimer’s Comes for My Parents Too

By: Bethany Jarmul

The leaves flip like coins against the heart-heavy

sky & frost fills the window’s reseau with toile.

My mother folds her body beneath a blanket, clutching

her wrinkled hands, eyes barren. In the hallway

my father’s slippers whisper against the wood floor,

pausing at each doorway as if to listen for a pet

or playmate long-gone. A voice speaks—my voice, purpled

with age. I feel the texture of the words, but can’t grasp

them between my palms. A moth flits its papery

wings closer & closer to the crackling flame.

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Bethany Jarmul is an Appalachian writer, poet, writing coach, and workshop instructor. She’s the author of a poetry collection, Lightning Is a Mother and a mini-memoir, Take Me Home. Her work has been published in many magazines including Rattle, Brevity, and Salamander. Her writing was selected for Best Spiritual Literature 2023 and Best Small Fictions 2024, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and The Best of the Net. Connect with her at bethanyjarmul.com or on social media: @BethanyJarmul