# Writing > Personal Poetry >  A sampling of some of my poems about disabilities...

## DCD1979

"I Was Born Different"

Some people question,
While others walk away.
Some people stare,
And let others snicker.
I was born different!

Some people talk
And others turn heads.
Some people point.
Others just laugh.
I was born different!

My fingers don't straighten
And elbows are bent.
My ankles are weak
And my back is curved.
I was born different!

I've had therapy since infancy:
With splints on my wrists,
A cast on my foot,
And thick glasses covering my eyes.
I was born different!

I never had many friends.
I used to be shy,
But not any more.
I can talk up a storm.
I was born different!

Oh how I love to read and write!
I'm a Special Olympics' athlete.
Figure skate no more;
Now have bowling and track
And basketball too!
Just look at my medals!
So what if I was born different!

 :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  Deanna C. Dilley  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  

"Special Olympics' Oath"

Let me win...
No matter what sport,
You always play to win.
But if I can not win...
You don't always come in first,
But having fun and making new friends is all that should matter any how.
Let me be brave in the attempt...
If you have a fall,
Or score for the opponent's team,
Don't give up.
Instead, refresh yourself where you left off.
Athletes always remember these three simple phrases.
"Let me win,
but if I can not win,
Let me be brave in the attempt!"

 :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  Deanna C. Dilley  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  

"Try To Be Us"

Cover your eyes and envision our darkness.
Could you handle being blind for a week?
Cover your ears and try to hear me whisper.
Do you think signing is easy?
Try to be me and survive real life.
It's harder than you may think.
Spend a month in a wheelchair.
Remember not to use your legs.
Slap braces on your legs
and try to race with your friends.
Being disabled is the most
difficult life for any one person.
Yet, we're not given a choice.
Put mittens on your hands.
Can you draw a straight line?
If you were born without legs,
could you get around town?
We learn to adapt every day.
We never asked to have disabilities.
Everything happens for a reason.
Whenever you pick on us or turn away;
we ask of you to try to be us
for an extended length of time.
If you're going to laugh or call us names;
first cover your eyes and ears.
Push yourself around in a manual wheelchair.
Before you say one more nasty comment;
try to picture yourself as one of us
for the rest of your life.

 :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  Deanna C. Dilley  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  

"A Not-So-Equal World"

We live in a world where everyone's created equal.
Yet not everyone is perceived in this fashion.
There's always war between
different cultures;
different races;
different skin tones;
different religions.

In a world where everyone's created equal,
We really aren't equal.
You can walk and talk just fine.
You stare, point, and laugh at a man in a wheelchair,
Or a little girl with hearing aids and a helmet to protect her from seizures.

In this world, we were created equal,
Yet you can just sit in the front seat of a bus and watch as a blind teen
trips over his own guide dog.

A world was created where everyone is equal,
However you can laugh at someone else's suffering.
You just sit and think, "At least it's not me."
I would love to know, who has the handicap now?

God created a world where everyone is equal.
Tell me honestly,
Will we ever truly be 100% equal?

 :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:  Deanna C. Dilley  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:

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