My favorite person
==================

* Upreet Dhaliwal

*   Care of the elderly

> > I forget sometimes
> > 
> > that you are not the person I once knew.
> > 
> > And I say something the way I used to
> > 
> > quick, without context, off the cuff
> > 
> > things that the person I once knew would catch
> > 
> > without fail
> > 
> > and respond
> > 
> > NOT with a ‘what?’ and a frown
> > 
> > nor with a ‘I have no idea what you're talking about’
> > 
> > but with a wink and a smile, because you got it.
> > 
> > You got me without the subtext.
> 
> > But that was then.
> > 
> > And I sometimes forget that this is now.
> > 
> > You are still my favorite person
> > 
> > but now, I need to catch your attention before I speak
> > 
> > To give reference to context – because you will have forgotten.
> > 
> > I need to speak clearly and slowly
> > 
> > and wait for the spark to light in your eyes
> > 
> > – or not –
> > 
> > before I add more words to the cacophony
> > 
> > that is roaring in your head.
> > 
> > Or is it the silence that deafens you?
> > 
> > You won't tell me,
> > 
> > or you can't.
> 
> > But you're still my favorite person,
> > 
> > And I try really hard,
> > 
> > but sometimes I forget
> > 
> > and then we have a day like today
> > 
> > with you cross and resentful at something
> > 
> > that I didn't tell you the moment it happened
> > 
> > – like you expected me to –
> > 
> > except that I did, but you've forgotten….
> > 
> > so when I speak without context
> > 
> > when I speak without reminding you
> > 
> > the light in your eyes sparks once, furious,
> > 
> > then dies into sullen indifference –
> > 
> > only because I forgot that you're not the person I once knew –
> > 
> > quick and sharp and funny and trusting –
> > 
> > even though you're still my favorite person.

## Footnotes

*   Competing interests None declared.

*   Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.