While taking a college-level poetry writing class, I discovered the importance of speaking up. And no, you do not have to be loud or even open your mouth to speak. Through poetry you can say everything that needs to be said and reach people by way of their hearts instead of their ears. This poem is inspired by the struggles that members of the disability community face each and every day when it comes to the patronizing attitudes of some able-bodied people. No child should have to believe that their future will be dull and unfulfilling simply because others see their disability as a severe hindrance. May the piece remind us not assume that a wheelchair is some sort of prison that some must come to terms with. Instead, may we see wheels as the wings that allow humans to go above and beyond all limitations!

A Shallow Prayer
By Lauren Stone

God bless the cripple for her unrelenting will
to get dressed in the morning and smile.
How inspiring that she has such thrill
for places that do not find her worthwhile.
God bless the cripple for writing a poem
to remind us that we would rather have died
than to let others see the metallic chrome
of wheels that act as the legs our lord had denied.
Maybe she was born or maybe she’s a machine.
She must know that to be worthy is to be alive,
to have others ignore you but you can still be seen.
It’s not enough to be broken and simply survive.
How can she grin when she should feel so small?
God bless this cripple for trying at all.