their wills stronger than their wont’s
like mountains, immovable
stone deaf, irreprovable
compromise beneath them, a dirty word
betrayers of this world, rest assured
Deaf can see symphony sounds with eager eyes
Imagining the noise as brown, flight of butterfly
Feeling the music from the car radio in time
Nodding with it in silver synch
To the rhythm deaf not blind
Walking on the beach as tan sand suckles feet
Toes making bowls of mud
while waves dance on repeat
And the cascading sun rays
All golden what is their sound
Perhaps they sound like a soft smile falling down
The drumming of an infants heart
As he jumps in arms and hands
Holding sweet child like holding a star
From a distant heaven or far land
The sound of tears of joy
Splashing in festive face
Happiness that fill a void
Gifts of God’s love and grace
Can you hear my satin soul
Rejoice on the deaf choir
Hands dance a ballet of gold
Sign language lifted higher
I am differently abled to hear
Sights hearing people may miss
Sounds of excitement I hold dear
As a deaf person I feel bliss
One Couple Of Days ago last week,
the two dead men found out they were really meek.
The blind woman has learned how to knit,
she loves to knit shoes for her bunny outfit.
The deaf policeman is now off the force,
he loves being a twenty-six hour DJ in the mall concourse.
The two dead boys love to play lively pranks,
like driving down main street in their big red tanks.
Dreading Wife's Deaf Years
Vacuous Verbal Vexing
Dreaming With Deaf Ears
RESURRECTED DEAF
God heard and answered;
We seemed not to have heard Him:
Loud justice echoed!
b.e.a.t the d~r~u~m of l o v e
l~~o~~u~~d so that the deaf may h e a r~
s~w~e~e~t music of love
r
o
l
l
o-u-t the carpet
dance floor must not be left b a r e~
j*o*y
l
i
v
e
s in our h~e~a~r~t~s
Contest: YOUR CHOICE u
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Contest Judged: June 1st, 2025 11:09:00 AM
Placement: First
i speak
my words fall to the wayside
off a cliff into the great abyss
i hear myself
but no one else takes notice
as if i'm walking through
a fog that's dense
and everyone is blind
i speak yet
no one hears a word i say
i'm wading trough
a pool of driftwood
i may as well join in
and float towards
the great unknown
i'm alone while
everyone around me
goes about their business
oblivious to me
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
My ears are sealed, forever bound by quiet/
A world of stillness, no sound can riot/
Yet my mind pulses, alive and aware/
With whispers and images you unknowingly share/
Every thought, unspoken and raw/
Every dream, every flaw/
They flow to me, a bittersweet stream/
Of joys, of sorrows, of hope, of esteem/
Your words, unuttered, cut me deep/
Your judgements linger, wounds that seep/
I yearn to mend the hate that you keep/
To wake the love in hearts asleep/
I see your regrets, the burdens you bear/
I glimpse the pain beneath the glare/
Life's weight is heavy, this much is true/
But why place that pain on me too/
For though I live in silence stark/
My soul is tender, it feels each mark/
So spare your scorn, your anger untamed/
There's kindness in you, don't leave it unnamed/
My ears knows only silence/
It's an empty darkness, a quiet void/
The world snaps, grows frustrated, mad/
When words must be repeated/
But they don't see the truth of our quiet lives/
It's not our fault, so please be patient/
Growing up, through every season of life/
We face the bullies, the ones who take advantage/
They don't understand, we are a culture/
Of our own/
Bound by language of hands and hearts/
We live with the silence that surrounds us/
But within, there is so much to say/
So show care, show understanding/
Repeat yourself if you must/
Because we do ultimately hear you/
Even if it takes three tries/
Be patient, be kind/
The deaf are people, too/
We feel as you feel/
We dream as you dream/
We cry as you cry/
Do not bully us, do not mock us/
Do not take advantage of us/
Because we are human, too/
I walk a solitary path, a reclusive soul/
Lonely whispers echo where shadows console/
Nobody speaks, nobody sees/
I'm lost in their world, like a silent breeze/
In public, I vanish, an invisible man/
An outcast, a shadow in their grander plans/
Yet within me burns a heart so true/
A Romeo's passion, longing for breakthrough/
I may be deaf, but I hear through skies/
Telepathy bridges what hearing denies/
My silent ears, tune to unspoken sound/
A mind reader, a Psychic yet deaf/
I hear you, feel you, though silence surrounds/
Don't hate me, don't judge what you think you know/
Don't let my deafness mark me with woe/
For I am not less, and I am not weak/
A soul in the shadows, yearning to speak/
The journey stretches, endless and long/
Loneliness binds, but I remain strong/
A road of solitude, yet I've always known/
The quiet holds power, it's my own/
As a deaf person who hears with heart
I view sea sounds with emerald eyes
The crashing waves seem to charge
And sea gulls wings animate their cries
I smell blue water and it seems to me
It’d be a shame not to “hear” with feet
As I splash with delight sinking in ecstasy
Like tan sand I give into power of healing
I listen to the white wind with my tan skin
It sends my hair sailing like black boat
The scent of seashell makes me grin
I imagine the sound is a lot like hope
Echoes of the silent shore
Ricochet off rainbows and candy clouds
I know the deaf hear more
For the sounds of nature are so loud
Date me and in my life leave an impart,
Daze me with love, none can tear us apart.
Dare to allow my love into your heart.
Dear, just no longer set my love apart,
Deaf ears must listen to this from the start.
Deal with me this way, and we'll play our part.
Draw inspiration from a working chart,
Drab emotions can't keep good love compact.
Drag your heart in, we'll never depart.
Teal tears cactus cries
Falling like feather on deaf ears
True love hears help heal
Her whispers of "love," a suffocating embrace,
She claimed I was her air, her very space.
Blinded, I clung to a love's sweet charade,
Ignoring whispers, the warnings that frayed.
Smiles, kisses, a tapestry brightly spun,
Purpose bloomed, a battle fought and won.
Deaf to murmurs, blind to crimson signs,
Lost in a dream where forever entwines.
Now dust settles, a truth I can't deny,
The façade crumbles, a love turned a lie.
Limbo
I’m in a dark space
There are no edges
And the sides flex if I push
I am blind and deaf
The taste of doubt
In my mouth
The scent of fear
In my nostrils
I roll and kick
But I make no impact
I want to be free
But there’s no way out
I’m agonising
Worrying, uncertainty
Claustrophobia haunts me
Rules my mind.
Everybody hates me
I’m against the world
And the world’s against me
You enter the room
And I snap out of it
My senses return
I’m free once more
My mind has lost its grip.
David Cox 17/04/24
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