Poetic calendars to raise Alzheimer’s Disease awareness

WATCHING her mother suffer with Alzheimer’s Disease and seeing her deterioration over the years, local poet Rozanne Baker has written a collection of poems regarding her personal thoughts on the disease.

Her work has been incorporated into a beautiful calendar, which Rozanne hopes to use to raise funds for the South African Alzheimer’s Association.

Rozanne is a local and international poet who has been writing poetry since 1987. She has read her poetry at the International Society of Poets Convention in Washington DC in the United States of America in 2003, where she received an Editor’s Choice Award for outstanding achievement in poetry. Her poem ‘Hurt Soul’ was professionally recorded and included as part of a CD poetry collection called ‘The Sound of Poetry’.

She has purred a vast number of poems, printed in the form of bookmarks and perpetual calendars, depicting her own range of emotions, experiences, perspectives and reflections on life.

“I write about what I see, think and hear. Poetry is a liberating form of expression,” explained Rozanne.

OPEN WINDOWS
The home seems deserted.
Silence fills the air.
Who knows what, or when.
Who knows why, or where.
The blinds are drawn.
The curtains closed.
What’s happening inside … 
No-one knows.
And then the window opens …
For how long …
No-one knows.
To the people looking in,
it’s like the beauty of a rose.
A glimmer of light is shining,
from the darkness deep within.
A spark of recognition 
and the faintest little grin.
“So nice to see you”.
“Thanks for coming by”.
These words are like a rainbow,
lighting up the sky.
And in the very moment
of waiting to reply,
the shutters close as silently
as rainclouds drifting by.
Back in to another world,
that’s far beyond our reach.
Like never-ending waves,
that wash up on the beach.
We’ll have to wait again,
to see what comes and goes.
For the windows to re-open,
For how long …
No-one knows.
Rozanne Baker – Amanzimtoti – August 2016

Rozanne has been visiting her mom, Sybil Language almost on a daily basis, for close on nine years while she has been in the frail care section of a care facility, after experiencing a stroke in 2008.

“I now have a collection of poems regarding my personal thoughts on Alzheimer’s Disease and how it affects not only the sufferer, but friends and family, together with those who are closely associated.”

Rozanne has compiled a perpetual calendar for the 12 months of the year, meaning it can be used from year to year. It comprises her collection of poems regarding Alzheimer’s, in the hope that by sharing her thoughts and emotions, she may bring some comfort to those affected.

For this venture to succeed, she requires sponsorship for the printing of the calendars. Rozanne intends donating the proceeds from the sale of the calendars to the Alzheimer’s Association, as her way of ‘giving back’ to the community. Both Rozanne and her mother are familiar faces of the Amanzimtoti community, having lived here most their life and having attended local schools. Anyone willing and able to sponsor this venture can contact Rozanne Baker on 079-496-0003 or email rozanneb@lantic.net