Before that moment
a change happened.
Before the bone snapped--
I did not lose my legs,
not my mobility or stability.
It was an inner battle
I couldn't fight,
where the earliest decisions
destroyed my future
ones.
Now I've learned to cope
instead of demanding, or
reprimanding.
Tears fall and slip,
down a soft cheek,
submissively.
My identity is as
heavy as that drop,
fitting in and out
of the regular folds
of the regular people.
But unlike the droplet,
I didn't dry up after
I
hit
the
ground.
I splashed and spread,
and no matter what else,
I've still got these arms,
and I've still got this head.
In a list
- People with Disabilities group list • next in list
A contest entry
- My 5 year anniversary at AP! Something to move me by MightyBoosh.
550 points, ended January 18, 21 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Write me a poem about the biggest surprise in your life. by poetrandy.
1400 points, ended February 8, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 28 of 28
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You still have a lot of things ~ and this poem is so heartwrenching. Your grief over the loss of the old you and coming to terms with a new you is evident. This poem is beautifully expressed and I like how it ends in such a positive way with acknowledging what you do have. Your choice of words, visualization and metaphor are lovely. Thank you for sharing this with the pwd group!
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this is amazing...
i love how you brought so much emotion to hte poem, your very talented, and also realte really well to other people!!!!
keep writting!
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WOW... this poem brought me to tears and I can honestly say that VERY rairly happens. I found this poem sad, inspirational and overall very powerful. Through the tragity you find a inner strengh which is very beautiful. I have been through many things in my life but personally have been very fortunate. Reading a poem such as yours reminds me to live every moment to the fullest. No matter what life throws at us, the real test is to never give up. Everything happens for a reason and although we might not right away understand, we wouldn't be the people we are today without those experiences and who you are is not something you can regret.
Thank you so very much for sharing, you have inspired me in more ways then you know and I am sure others feel the same.
Never lose that hope that beautiful strenght you have. As my dad has always said: "The sun came up this morning, the grass smelled good after the rain, summer is coming, and somewhere there are people who want to share mornings and nights and Christmas and birthdays and looks across rooms full of people and walks in the snow and sunshine and maybe you have not met them yet, or maybe you have BUT they are out there and you sure as hell don't want to miss that. That just wouldn't be fair to them , or to you or to the sunshine or the wind in the trees and especially to you."
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This is awesome. So strong and brave. My poems would be so angsty. this is beautiful. "I've still got these arms,
and I've still got this head." Best lines in the whole thing. You really have a way with words, and have an awesome style. =)
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wow thats very heart felt i like it
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a buildup
not to say the resemblance is on the same scale, but when I was on crutches I was more intrigued by the brain's import for as one said optimism. adjustment can be phenomenal.
and some have to do away with right hand per se of false strength and for you to not idolize your loss of use is a movement of reasoning that is very inviting. mention of leaping mountain rams, I believe, is a pull from lame not in lament but with luminous hope who can restart it's so true of earth's steadiness.
principles of prism...
you took such increased poetic stock of your situation from "My identity is as
heavy as that drop" without a cease activated according to yet active --
vibrantly different ~
called Carolyn
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Nice poem!
Good work! Good luck in the contest!
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By reading other comments, this is about a disease that in my ignorance i have never heard off, therefore not fully understanding the poem but finding it wonderful anyway
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Great
Thank you for writing about an extraordinary occurrence, one that you may not have at all anticipated. Crohn's disease, an otherwise repressed gene, popped up out of nowhere; my entire life changed. I've given you 100 pts because I'm in remission and this gave me strength.
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I hope you find peace.
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I love the way you formatted this poem. It give such a sense of heaviness to the line "I hit the ground" I love the imagery, fitting in and out of the folds of regular people, splashed and spread, etc. Very well done.
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Wow. I was scrolling down the featured poems, and I saw you had one featured, so I had to read, Madam Lucas!
Recalling what you've told us on the board about your accident, you've created such a powerful image of that with your words here.
Your word choice is great because it effects everything portrayed in this piece--the flow and transitions, how your thoughts are perceived, and emotions, especially. I appreciate this piece because it seems like so many people, if in your situation, would be wallowing in their grief and pointing out all the faults and disadvantages of the accident, but you offer yourself hope with this poem, and you give it, too. I like that a lot.
I'm happy I stopped by to read this!
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welldone
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Somehow it describes an event.... Well penned down....
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pretty good! i like the way that you write the lines like they flow, very good!
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I'm aware of your back story, and the poem sits deep as a result, moving piece indeed.
I never did find out, and i was eager to, what are the chaces of full recovery?
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0.01%, sir.
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That my friend, is a tragedy.
I took the liberty of spotlighting this poem, hopefully others will be as moved as i am.
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something happened that made all control seem distant. You have no power over what has happened and it seems that you have lost yourself in your inability to be the controller of your own fate. But somehow you did something before that this predicament was born from. now you are at the end of your rope and are determined to fight back.
i know this feeling and you portrayed it precisely. Kudos for that.
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Wow this is a really great poem.This is sad I wish I knew exactly what happened. BUt I'm sure whatevever happened you knew you had the strength.You have come up with a different way of describing it and I love it. I really like your lines:
Before that moment
a change happened
Now I've learned to cope
instead of demanding, or
reprimanding.
Great Job!!
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If this were to happen to me I would become unbearably bitter and every sentence would be sarcastic and acidic.
I'm not sure I would like the way everyone talks about inner strength and all the movie script speech. I don't know what you think about it, but I know that you won't ever become twisted and resentful.
Although this isn't a joke, please keep on laughing.
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Oh, Luke. You make me want to cry. I think of what happened to you, and I think, if it happened to me, I couldn't have handled it. I would feel trapped, locked into a useless body. But you, Lucas, you have the key. You have it, whatever it is that allows you to cope. You have the hope and strength to say "I've still got these arms, / and I've still got this head". But maybe you're a normal human, and maybe I'm just weak. Maybe I'm the one trapped in my own body.
With love,
Devon
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You have such great strength and ambition...
I envy that.
I know you're going to make it, no matter what.
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A most heartfelt write, showing inner strength and courage. This was very empowering and beautifully written. Well done. and my best wishes to you for the future......
AnnD
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Great job. You portray the strong emotion of this without becoming unrealistic, and the darkness of the poem turns almost hopeful at the end.
Wonderful piece,
Cadence
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Hymn to Stamina
While reading, I immediately recolected the film "My Left Foot". The poem is similarly incredible! ...In good sense :-)
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....
Alas, I have nothing insightful to say.
Skeletons
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Superb plus
A fine write, and tribute to the often, silent courage of unsung heros, some of which I see every day, who most often never even complain about the fact that they are differently abled.
A most excellent write, and very well said.
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