"Forgetfulness"

This poem surfaced again today in my daily reading. Billy has so many good poems, it is hard to pick a favorite, but this one is right up there. Here is my response. (Reading his will help make more sense of my poem.)

Forgetfulness

Billy really nails this

and makes me think

of the gazillion books

I've read over the years,

some I probably loved, but

now don't remember the title

or author or even basic

storyline.

And then all those concerts

and shows I attended. I know I saw

Bad Company and Jethro

Tull in the 70's, but absolutely

nothing stands out, except

perhaps who I was with.

Same goes for Fleetwood Mac.

Totally forgettable.

But even more so, Billy

taps into my forgetfulness

becoming increasingly noticeable

 now at the age of 63. Seems to be

 a turning point. Unremembering

the date of a dinner, or where the 

water fountain is at Publix, or the

important email I have to get to.

I blame it on dehydration, only so 

I don't have to blame it on aging.

Yet, it's there, I cannot deny it.

I don't recall the capital of 

Paraguay, nor do I care. And

if I need to remember a poem

I loved, I can look it up. Or it

will find me someday, like

poems usually do, unbidden.

I'm comforted by this thought:

the things I need to remember

are here:  the present moment

                              music

                                loving.