Bright Horizons

Merely a brain in a jar

Physically, I don’t go far

Still my brain escapes its prison

To seek a brighter prism

Beyond the burgeoning horizon

…

I may awaken in the same bed

But I don’t awake with dread

For I know when all is said

I can go anywhere until I’m dead

For the lid of my imprisoning jar was loosened by you

…

My legs may not work

But my mind I shall not shirk

Voraciously I read words

To send me soaring with the birds

Across vast landscapes earthly or elsewhere

…

My mind is clear

I shall not fear

Nor accept physical border

For I am a mental hoarder

Of a universe of knowledge

…

Despite my alleged limitations

I shall not voice lamentations

For each day I am grateful

For the ability to not be hateful

Just because I have M.S.

…

So thank you Mom

For loving me with aplomb

And gifting me with words

Allowing a cripple to soar with birds

I love you

………………………

I wrote this for a friend of mine who passed a few years ago. Despite having been born with Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.), Jack was truly a happy soul. He wheeled his chair ridden frame through every single day with a smile on his face and love in his heart. Never did he let his physical handicap hold him back from living life to the fullest. I could do worse than emulate that beautiful soul.

On the other side of that… given that I have placed this in more of a first person viewpoint, I also wrote it remembering a time in my own life when I was crippled. As a small child I had a disease in my feet that left me unable to walk for over two years. I was five years old and unable to walk until almost age 8. Many times I stared out the window at my four siblings playing in the yard. Thankfully, my mother taught me to read at the age of four. I lived in books … I ran in books .. I flew in books… The gift of reading was the greatest gift ever given me.

So.. This is for both Jack, and Mom. May they both Rest In Peace.