Can I Still Recall?
In my life of dementia, all these places have their moments.
Dementia is for the brave at heart; I can still recall for the moment.
When the darkness of dementia comes, oh please, just stand by me, stand by me.
Day by Day, I see life less clearly, but seeing you more dearly.
Even when I am old and gray; I want to feel there are songs to be sung.
All I want to do is sing out loud; what life can be with a song.
Everybody, all we need is love to fight against the isolation of dementia.
Better times will come as we stand together in this new life of dementia.
I can only imagine life surrounded with faith and music to sing.
Better times will come as we see the beauty… from those memories.
I am sitting here wondering where my life has gone, wanting memories.
Gonna have good news, as we stand for dementia awareness.
Singer/poet
Iva Peck
Music
by Eileen Rowell
It has the power to make us smile
And bring us to all types of tears
It can carry us back in time
And inspire us to
Dance in the moment
For all our happiest days,
There is music
This choir gave Denny joy
A sense of belonging
A purpose
A friend to lean on
A smile
A laugh and a song to give to others
Never regret a day in your life
Good days give you happiness
Bad days give you experience
Worst give you lessons
And the best days give you memories
But for Denny and I in the spirit of Carol Burnett
I am so glad we had this time. Together.
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Being a Choir Partner
By Christine Fink
Being a choir partner, what can I say?
We laugh, we dance, we sing, we play
As we gather together in this sacred space,
Dementia is forgotten, here it has no place.
Rising on crescendos, our voices upward lift,
Being here together is our greatest gift.
Dementia is not here, we leave it at the door,
The music that’s inside, is our very core.
As I listen to the choir, each note and song is sung,
I realize we are not separate but blended as one.
Now we stand together, our voices softly blend
Not only as a partner, but as a trusted friend.
Standing Together
“The Stand in the Light Memory Choir” are gonna rise up singing.
Morning has broken praising the songs for dementia awareness.
Dementia life can be a beautiful thing when we stand together.
We know songs that we sing together catches life’s hope and love.
Dementia a frozen cold life, needing warmth of hope and love.
This land of memory loss is about togetherness.
We sing together to stay, alert and merry.
What a world, what a life, when we sing.
We the Memory Choir stand fearlessly together side by side.
Riding the storm of memory loss raging within us we sing.
We break to the surface through song, standing strong.
Let’s put this time aside to laugh and sing a song.
Singer and poet,
Iva Peck
Missing The One I Love and Need
I am not going to miss you as you will miss me.
I am not going to remember you as you will me.
I am not going to care for you as you will have to care for me.
I am not going to know who you are as you will know me.
I am not going to love you like I did as you will still love me.
I am never going to hold you like I did as you will always need.
I will never feel the pain of dementia as you will.
I will not know the hardships of dementia as you will.
I am not going to miss you as I will need you to understand.
I wish it would not have to be you.
Singer/poet
Iva Peck
My Dad A Caregiver
My Dad by fate was given the hardest task for a man who was a manly man.
My dad the fighter who fought with many manly struggles now has to fight for his wife.
My dad a family faithful man with many manly jobs to do now facing new womanly chores.
My dad would feed /cloth mom as best he could he was not afraid to ask for help.
My dad a family man received help from daughters, son, grandchildren and even friends.
My dad fought for right to take his wife into public places even when mother was inappropriate.
My dad would say “She my wife of 60 plus years you treat her with respect or you are insulting me.”
Poet/singer
Iva Peck
We all know a story about angels. You may have even seen an angels I know I have here at
“Stand in the Light Choir.”
Angels to Dementia
The Spouse of a person with dementia is an angel who loves, honor, cherish.
The Friend of a person with dementia is an angel who helps do chores.
The Child of a person with dementia is an angel who care for you always.
The Caregivers of a person living in the dementia world will especially be seen as “Angels of Love”.
Poet/singer
Iva Peck
Discouraging Words
We with dementia too often want to hide our fear of our memory loss.
We hear too often discouraging words about memory loss.
We hear too often the black clouds that hang over the heads of our caregivers.
We often at night cannot sleep as we fear what we may lose tomorrow.
We need to hear encouragement in the small things that we all take for granted.
Poet/singer Iva Peck
From poem written for Stand in the Light Memory Choir
second concert April 2017 - Revised August 25, 2020
Iva Peck is a long time member of the Stand in the Light Memory Choir. Besides her love of singing, she is an avid writer of poetry. Her poems have been featured in many of our choir's concerts and have even been used as lyrics for our commissioned piece "Angels of Dementia".
To see more Stand in the Light Memory Choir videos
go to our Gallery page or click here for our YouTube Channel.
Dementia
Dementia may have us, But we have each other.
Dementia may confuse us, But we have a gentle hand to guide us.
Dementia may sadden us, But we have each other’s smile.
Dementia may give forgetfulness, But we have a song to remember.
Dementia sneaks into our lives so, Slowly that we may not notice.
Dementia whatever form, Slowly changes who we are.
Poet/singer
Iva Peck
My New Journey
I am afraid to take this new journey alone.
I will travel into an unknown World,
A World that no one else really knows.
We can travel together into this unknown World,
With our open hearts and loving hands.
I will travel into a gentle loving World,
With many caregivers by my side.
Poet/singer
Iva peck
Who knows
Who know what is going to happen with memory loss,
Dementia takes you a little at a time.
Do not care who is right or who is wrong.
There is nothing you can do when it comes to you.
be thankful for the life you have now.
I do care for peaceful life with someone
There is nothing you can do to stop the day to day take away.
The present time is the only time we have.
Do not care about the past or future.
Poet/Singer
Iva Peck
For us with Alzheimer’s acknowledging that there are the possibilities for something positive: the positive impact of
music that memory does not interfere with our ability to sing.
Let Us be Seen
In the cold winters of life with Dementia,
Dwelling in Yesterday for dignity,
We shan’t be ashamed,
We will come round right.
Do Lord remember us with Dementia,
Standing together, facing whatever,
All we need is love and a simple melody.
Poet/Singer
Iva Peck
It Can Happen to You
Dementia can happen to you its’ hard to find peace in your mind.
Leave those worries of dementia on the other side.
Dementia how it started where it comes from nobody knows.
You can make me feel so safe like life has just begun.
Dementia keeps us star gazing, someday
we will find it, the caregivers, the volunteers, and me.
Dementia may have troubles well in hand,
but we will give it a stand.
When I get older losing my mind,
indicate precisely what you mean to me.
It’s time that we are aware dementia is a small world after all.
Dementia has no end except through your fight to win.
Dementia can be a beautiful thing, as long as I hold on to peaceful things.
Dementia oh yes these are the days we will Stand in the Light,
just to have these peaceful moments of laughter and a song.
Poet/singer
Iva Peck
What You Will See
Will it be the silly things that I will do,
Look into my eyes to see me.
Will it be the things I will forget,
Look into my eyes for the memories.
Will it be the confusion that makes me anxious,
Look into my eyes for the trust I need.
Will it be the task that I will be unable to do,
Look into my eyes to see what is hidden.
Will it be your love that I have forgotten,
Look into my eyes and what do you see!
Poet/singer
Iva Peck
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