Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Seeing

Years ago now, I met this woman.  This was the sum total of her answer to How are you? I*m blind (she would say).  She was not born blind, it came on her later in life.  I never learned the story of how she became blind.  I, like many others, did all I could to move her in what I thought was a more positive direction.  It is probably not a surprise that I found myself thinking of her this morning, after exercising at the gym, and losing sight of the trainer.  Exercise causes both eyes to go blurry.  Now I have to tell people that they need to tell me if they*re going across the room, especially in a crowd of people.  I may lose track of them, not because I don*t care, but simply because I don*t see them.  Ah, pride.  I have new appreciation for beginning the conversation with I*m blind.  Of course, I do my best not to stop there.

Whenever anyone asked her
How she was,
She would answer
I*m blind
As if that summed it up.
We used to laugh
About her response.
She was, after all, so much more
Than her blindness.

Now I look through shimmer and blur
With one eye.
I am not blind,
Not even close,
But these are times
I better understand her answer,
So many years later.
There is much that comes
With the shimmer and blur.
Now I see in different ways,
Not better
Not worse
But different.
I see a halo and sparkle
In particular light,
I see the world
As through a drop of water.
The doctors cannot explain it,
But then
I really did not expect them
To explain it.
I*m blind
She said.
I*m blind.
I know a tiny bit
Of what she meant.

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