Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Another poem, yeah!!!

Here is a poem that compliments my previous blog:

Wall

This sharp clawing at the back of the neck
loneliness clutching my throat
I suffocate from the emptiness I feel alone and invisible
my friends and family
say they want to hang around me
I hear whispers of them in the breeze

I can't use my 3000 dollar lightwriter as a paperweight
a tortoise tries to crawl a race with a bullet train
the word-prediction capabilities
don't shield me from the impatient faces that tap their toes
their eyes always wander looking for the next novelty
they need patience
but my cell phone goes deathly for hours in the day
can't we just find a fiber optic way
to hook my brain to the machine
so my thoughts can be electronically voiced
over twelve-inch speakers

So we left with a clear wall
made of shards of ice and glass
I can see this barrier everyday
the sun glinting off its clear reflection
everyone acts as if it were not there
and does not see me cut my hand and feet
as I try to knock this wall down
I kick and punch until my feet and hands
are oozing with blood
I yell myself hoarse like a bullfrog
but I cannot get my family and friends to get close to me
so they really know
my dreams, thoughts, desires, and feelings
I shiver behind this clear wall
and wait for someone to notice me
wait for a chance to speak

By Lateef McLeod

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

As I see it now.

Basically I see my disability as a hinderance to my social standing with my family and friends. As I see it now I have a disconnect between my loved ones and I because I use a speech generative device to communicate. This disconnection is why sometimes I feel isolated because I feel few people truely understand what it is like to have your disability impede your communication. Communication is essentially the basis of how we engage in society and how we as humans stay connected to each other. So since it is a struggle for me to communicate because I have more of a challenge to build a relationship with other people. I think the most important thing a human does is to build strong loving relationships with God and other people. Since it's more of a challenge for me to do that I realise how much of a gift it is to have these relationships.

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