A ‘Wheelchair Angel Style’ poem
My foot
fractured,
I stumbled
around upon
crutches, and
never
will
I forget
that experience.
Still, truth be told & painful though
that was, I was walking around
again only several weeks later.
Ultimately, those many days
increased my appreciation
of the daily struggles that my
friend Jessica must contend with
all the time with her muscular
disorder. She rides a scooter,
rather than a
wheel chair, which comes
with a big battery...
But her days are
full of grating
challenges able-bodied folks don't know.
Wheelchair Angel Style?
- A poem in 25 lines;
- Syllabic, 2-2-3-4-3-2-1-3 5-8-8-8-10-8-8-8-8-8-8 4-4-6-4-4 10;
- L20 thru L24 are split, to create the illusion of wheels.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
This is so sad, David. Yes, there are so many who face greater challenges that are unimaginable for us. It only takes a slight trip or fall in life to have a taste of this. I wish Jessica well and salute her braveness. I love how your words form an image of tribute. Beautiful! 🙂
🤗 Terveen 🤗
Well said, David. Those injuries have a way of teaching us valuable lessons.
👍 yep 👍
Loved the retrospection in this poem. A concrete poem – but I’m wondering why the developers felt the need to specify this as a separate type. It is true that those wheelchair bound do face challenges that others rarely acknowledge….
I have no idea – hate the game, not the player 😉
Split lines 20–24 also create the image of legs — in fact, to me the poem looks like a person, a bit bow-legged, and maybe standing on a skateboard. The line breaks work so well in this poem!
❤ Susanna ❤ – I thought about that… but I don't design these forms – I'm just their humble servant!
😉
David
I know — that’s at least half the fun of dancing with them!
🥰
Thoughtful. It is good to remind ourselves what we have to be grateful for and to think of the struggles others face.
❤ Joanna ❤
Brilliant, and true. Well done, David. ❤️
💖 Jeff 💖
We can’t really walk in another’s shoes, but it doesn’t hurt to try to imagine it. Something we should all do more often. (K)
💞 Yes, Kerfe 💞
Hi David, my wife’s name is also Jessica and she uses a motorized wheelchair to terrorize the neighbourhood, she is 72 years young and a force to contend with.
👨🦼 Andrew 👨🦼
Thank you for sharing this poem. The way you play with all of those styles is an inspiration.
we all have our hobbies 😉
❤ thanks, Molly! ❤
great poem and well done David. I never love the breaks in poems or bones for that matter!
happy halloween 🎃
I don’t love the breaks in bones, Cindy, but the breaks in poems are always interesting for me to contemplate!
❤
David
No one likes those.. I’m sure that’s true…
especially when you are playing with so many forms.. 💖
Nice form ❤❤. I do pity your friend, riding a scooter with a muscular disorder sounds like a tough task…which disorder is it,if I may ask?
To be honest, I don’t know. 🤷♂️
That was nice. I was limited by a walker for about 5 months and I have a slight glimpse into little things such sidewalks, crosswalks,etc. That is so small compared to every day living like that. That is a very beautiful poem. Painful and true!
Charley, Yeah… one of my best friends died very young (in her late twenties) due to a heart condition that she was born with, and while she was alive, she could only walk slowly because her body wasn’t receiving enough oxygen… she had limitations that most people had no concept of and never took the time to attempt to understand…
💔
David
Oh my gosh. I don’t think a lot of people are grateful for health. I remember when I was young and someone I worked with was in his fifties, and he got severely ill, and he said one of the most profound statements to me…more profound as I age….. he said he never realizes how he took for granted mobility and health. And how people brush him off like a nuisance. Or invisible. Yeah ….