Sitting in my wheelchair
My thin legs are strapped to poles
I’m stuck
Unmoving
I’m trapped deep in a hole

Each morning I awaken
From a wistful dream
Tears are streaming down my face
Dreaming of who I could be
I cannot move without someone pushing me along
Sitting in my wheelchair
To it I do belong

From the second I escaped
My mother’s womb,
The chord was wrapped around my neck
The smell of death enveloping
Like a silent tomb
The nurses and doctors running
In a hurried rush
My mother crying into her robe
My father saying
“Hush”
They did unwrap that dreaded chord
Just in time to keep me
But something was lost
Why do you care?
I don’t.
I’m still just being me

But actually the worst part
Is really not the chair
But all the lingering looks
And all the avoiding stares
Looking at the floor or wall
Pretending I’m not there

Sitting in my wheelchair,
Trying desperately to hide
My drooling mouth
And sagging eyes
Trying to make them see
The girl I am inside

Sitting in my wheelchair,
Dreaming of a better day
Where I will be on my own
Finding my own way
I shall prove to the world
That I can do it all
I can think
I can dream
I can shine
And I will take back something that is rightfully mine