Courage In Absentia?

Woody Allen once quipped  'I don't mind dying,
I just don't want to be there when it happens',
as if the 'just' in the phrase was his courage
in the face of his temptation to cowardice.

Now we need not be there when we die,
particularly not when we get dementia
or have our Alzheimer's diagnosed
too late to stop it taking permanent hold.

In this absentee life
everybody except the sufferer
makes the decisions
for the limited life on offer
for those with short term,
and absent, memories
and are made acutely aware
of memory's limits as they care.