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Poems with Disabilities
by Jim Ferris
I’m sorry—this space is reserved
For poems with disabilities. I know
It’s one of the best spaces in the book,
But the Poems with Disabilities Act
requires us to make all reasonable
accommodations for poems that aren’t
normal. There is a nice space just
a few pages over—in fact (don’t
tell anyone) I think it’s better
than this one. I myself prefer it.
Actually I don’t see any of those
poems right now myself, but you never know
when one might show up, so we have to keep
this space open. You can’t always tell
just from looking at them either. Sometimes
they’ll look just like regular poems
when they roll in… you’re reading along
and suddenly everything
changes, the world tilts
a little, angle of vision
jumps, your entrails aren’t
where you left them. You
remember your aunt died of cancer at just your age
and maybe yesterday’s twinge means
something after all. Your sloppy,
fragile heart beats
a little faster
and then you know.
You just know:
the poem
is right
where it
belongs.
You can find the above poem in Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability by Jennifer Bartlett | Goodreads.
