"Stranger in my place" Poem

I came across this poem by a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor! Although it is a bit sad I was touched by it, so I'll post it for my survivor friends so I can also remember it!

Stranger in my Place

My husband has a new wife
My daughter, a new mother.
And sometimes I think I hate
The stranger who has taken my place.

It's painful just to watch her
Do what I once did.
She cooks (a little), cleans (not well),
And dreams her little dreams.

But where is the laughter, the passion,
The two of us used to know?
Where, the bright hopes and the wonder
That bound us, heart and soul?

And yet my husband loves her
(I wonder how he can)
A person slow and awkward,
Limited and sad.

The accident that brought her
Saw the old me die
Left this strange new person
To carry on in my stead.

Now my daughter calls her Mommy,
And trusting takes her hand.
My husband calls her Dearest
And draws her into his arms.

But deep within me something
Remembers and protests,
I refuse, I will not be
This stranger who has taken my place!

Anonymous