Senility

My aunt remembers details
From her life so long ago,
Yet ask her what she had for lunch
And she'll say, "I don't know."

She knew her old address and all
The neighbors who lived near.
Her memory from eighty years ago
Was crystal clear.

Yet she could not recall the fact
She'd talked about her youth,
Repeating stories umpteen times -
Believe me, that's the truth.

We listened and responded
Like each telling was the first.
Within my aunt's declining brain,
The time has been reversed.

But still, we had a lovely time -
We laughed and reminisced.
Those tales from days long past to me
Are so hard to resist.

The mind's a most peculiar thing -
As brain cells up and die,
We travel back to how we were,
The present day a lie.