Aphasia Poem, by Bernie Rader, Freeport, NY

When I opened my eyes, it was a new world.

No uttered a word or nothing, was a syllable.
Not my name, not my wife, not my childrens
not my hospital room.
like death.
I croaked like a frog, to some other person.
And in a few minutes, it was horror - Buh, Buh, Bah!

It's better from there to here,
but I think and think - What happened to me?
It's another person
A haze
Like my mind wanders in a forest.
I try to speak -
Sometimes it's o.k. but sometimes it's gone.
My mind is vacant.
I do some things I used to do,
but I have no other thoughts,
just my wife, my family, my good relatives, and friends.
Will I come back?
I don't know.