One Theory about Alzheimer's

[Humbert]

There are certain moments
everyone comes to rely on; I think a colon would make more sense here, as a colon qualifies/ defines while a semicolon connects two independent clauses
those thoughts that come to us those might not be needed
when we have uprooted roots 
and our minds have moved
elsewhere I enjoyed this line break and how it literally moved the thought "elsewhere" within the poem

                                at times, 
despite stillness, old needs stir 
and the wish to grip the present 
recedes to claim half-buried bones;
hands try to grasp shards of light, 
our old toys, an empty street,
a narrow room

an open window, fresh baked bread,
sneakers, a porcelain duck, certain
Novembers, a backyard swing set

                        permanence 
is left to the foolish, our present, 
left, now our past, dry-mouthed,
sun-stroked; we want to hold onto 
anything that pleas I love this line, and it makes sense in the context of the poem; the word "pleas" has a sort of underlying pun in that we hold onto anything that wants to be held on to, or begs us, and also that is could be seen as the unfinished phrase "pleases us" that can be attributed by the forgetful nature of Alzheimer's.

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"at times" and "permanence" should be justified right. Even in EDIT mode, I can't seem to move them over.

Also to comment on the discourse, art is always up for interpretation, but I think that generally when people make suggestions it is to make the poem make sense within its own context. If you research the difference between formal and historical literary criticisms, you can see why things like "author's intention" are not acceptable for all readers. That being said, that does not necessarily make it unimportant either. Sorry for the tangent

All in all, I really enjoyed the poem. I think its structure really complemented the ideas associated with the disease, and the metaphors worked well for me: half-buried bones, shards of light. Thanks for the read and I look forward to any edits