Deaf Poems

Jolie77

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I have some several Deaf Poems that I would like to share. I'm always liking to read different poems whether they are related to the deafness or just about anything. I love the Poetry for itself because it is a form of a communication and it is one of the best way to express how you feel. If there's any deaf poems out there, I'd love to read them. Feel free to find any and post it in this thread. :)

Thunk! A noisy world
(Contributed by Henry W. Meyerding)

Thunk! A noisy world,
A world whose dinn you cannot escape
Surrounds you --- damn.
The wind claws you, the sea bellows,
The wrath of its roiled torrents
Are multimedia bazar.

The screeching of fowl -- You never escape the buzzard's bark
The incessant twittering of idiot pests
Nor even the pounding of the woodpecker
For you this torture is.

Only a babble of incessant chatter, of thoughtless noise;
Or else, certainly you quiver
Attacked by booming resonant explosions
Ah, the jest of dynamite -- What ho the NITRO

Thunk again! Your wife's nagging,
Full of certain rectitude for you it never ceases
Even your own name you ignore at every possible opportunity;
You know you're as thick as a plank
To the astonishment of no one else.

Ah! you who Deaf!
Forget not all those foolish hearies
Cursed by an impossibility of silence
Incapable of coherant or determined cogitation in a world they define
To be most beneficial for themselves
They are doubly damnned.

Think! and forget them not.

************

Ode to a Deaf Child . . .

One day I saw a little child as lovely as a flower,
She danced and ran, she jumped and turned ...
I watched her for an hour.

This child of God was all the things I'd want my own to be,
Magnificient of heart adn limb a curiosity.

But when God made this little one he didn't give her sound,
He left her in silent world where quiet is profound.

A deep abyss, a lonely world, away from all who hear,
To never know the voice of man in happiness or fear.

And as I watched her hands make pictures in the air,
A silent unknown rhythm that I could never share.

For in this world of silence the hearing rarely go,
Because they lack the picture words it never can be so.

This causes me to wonder about the world of sound,
What is it that we're missing where the silence is profound?

And then I knew the answer, it suddenly was there--
To live and love togethere means people have to share.

Thus in the world of picture words where pretty symbols flow,
The meanings of I LOVE YOU is there for all who know.

And so I guess the world of sound will stay a world apart,
Until it learns the picture words, it cannot share the same heart.

Philip A. Bellefleur, Ph.D.
 
world_3.gif
 
You have to be Deaf to understand

What is it like to "hear" a hand?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be a small child,
In a school, in a room void of sound --
With a teacher who talks and talks and talks;
And then when she does come around to you,
She expects you to know what she's said?
You have to be deaf to understand.

Or the teacher thinks that to make you smart,
You must first learn how to talk with your voice;
So mumbo-jumbo with hands on your face
For hours and hours without patience or end,
Until out comes a faint resembling sound?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be curious,
To thirst for knowledge you can call your own,
With an inner desire that's set on fire --
And you ask a brother, sister, or friend
Who looks in answer and says, "Never Mind"?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What it is like in a corner to stand,
Though there's nothing you've done really wrong,
Other than try to make use of your hands
To a silent peer to communicate
A thought that comes to your mind all at once?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be shouted at
When one thinks that will help you to hear;
Or misunderstand the words of a friend
Who is trying to make a joke clear,
And you don't get the point because he's failed?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be laughed in the face
When you try to repeat what is said;
Just to make sure that you've understood,
And you find that the words were misread --
And you want to cry out, "Please help me, friend"?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to have to depend
Upon one who can hear to phone a friend;
Or place a call to a business firm
And be forced to share what's personal, and,
Then find that your message wasn't made clear?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be deaf and alone
In the company of those who can hear --
And you only guess as you go along,
For no one's there with a helping hand,
As you try to keep up with words and song?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like on the road of life
To meet with a stranger who opens his mouth --
And speaks out a line at a rapid pace;
And you can't understand the look in his face
Because it is new and you're lost in the race?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to comprehend
Some nimble fingers that paint the scene,
And make you smile and feel serene,
With the "spoken word" of the moving hand
That makes you part of the word at large?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to "hear" a hand?
Yes, you have to be deaf to understand.


A poem written by Willard J. Madsen, professor at Gallaudet University
 
What is it like to be deaf?

"What is it like to be deaf?"
People have asked me.
Deaf? Oh, hmm... how do I explain that?
Simple: I can't hear.

No, wait... it is much more than that.
It is similar to a goldfish in a bowl,
Always observing things going on.
People talking at all times.
It is like a man on his own island
Among foreigners.

Isolation is no stranger to me.
Relatives say hi and bye
But I sit for 5 hours among them
Taking great pleasure at amusing babies
Or being amused by TV.
Reading books, resting, helping out with food.

Natural curiosity perks up
Upon seeing great laughter, crying, anger.
Inquiring only to meet with a "Never mind" or
"Oh, it's not important".
Getting a summarized statement
Of the whole day.

I'm supposed to smile to show my happiness.
Little do they know how truly miserable I am.
People are in control of language usage,
I am at loss and really uncomfortable!

Always feeling like an outsider
Among the hearing people,
Even though it was not their intention.

Always assuming that I am part of them
By my physical presence, not understanding
The importance of communication.

Facing the choice between Deaf Event weekend
or a family reunion.
Facing the choice between the family commitment
And Deaf friends.
I must make the choices constantly,
Any wonder why I choose Deaf friends???

I get such great pleasure at the Deaf clubs,
Before I realize it, it is already 2:00 am,
Whereas I anxiously look at the clock
Every few minutes at the Family Reunion.

With Deaf people, I feel so normal,
Our communication flows back and forth.
Catch up with little trivials, our daily life,
Our frustration in the bigger world,
Seeking the mutual understanding,
Contented smiles and laughter are musical.
So magical to me,
So attuned to each other's feelings.
True happiness is so important.

I feel more at home with Deaf people
Of various color, religion, short or tall.
Than I do among my own hearing relatives.
And you wonder why?
Our language is common.
We understand each other.

Being at loss of control
Of the environment that is communication,
People panic and retreat to avoid
Deaf people are like the plague.

But Deaf people are still human beings
With dreams, desires, and needs
To belong, just like everyone else.
 
understanding

What is it like to "hear" a hand?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be a small child,
In a school, in a room void of sound --
With a teacher who talks and talks and talks;
And then when she does come around to you,
She expects you to know what she's said?
You have to be deaf to understand.

Or the teacher thinks that to make you smart,
You must first learn how to talk with your voice;
So mumbo-jumbo with hands on your face
For hours and hours without patience or end,
Until out comes a faint resembling sound?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be curious,
To thirst for knowledge you can call your own,
With an inner desire that's set on fire --
And you ask a brother, sister, or friend
Who looks in answer and says, "Never Mind"?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What it is like in a corner to stand,
Though there's nothing you've done really wrong,
Other than try to make use of your hands
To a silent peer to communicate
A thought that comes to your mind all at once?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be shouted at
When one thinks that will help you to hear;
Or misunderstand the words of a friend
Who is trying to make a joke clear,
And you don't get the point because he's failed?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be laughed in the face
When you try to repeat what is said;
Just to make sure that you've understood,
And you find that the words were misread --
And you want to cry out, "Please help me, friend"?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to have to depend
Upon one who can hear to phone a friend;
Or place a call to a business firm
And be forced to share what's personal, and,
Then find that your message wasn't made clear?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be deaf and alone
In the company of those who can hear --
And you only guess as you go along,
For no one's there with a helping hand,
As you try to keep up with words and song?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like on the road of life
To meet with a stranger who opens his mouth --
And speaks out a line at a rapid pace;
And you can't understand the look in his face
Because it is new and you're lost in the race?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to comprehend
Some nimble fingers that paint the scene,
And make you smile and feel serene,
With the "spoken word" of the moving hand
That makes you part of the word at large?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to "hear" a hand?
Yes, you have to be deaf to understand.


A poem written by Willard J. Madsen, professor at Gallaudet University

i understand so much. and i love this poem it's amazing. i'm not fully deaf well i'm deaf in my right in hard of hearing and my left so i do understand:) do you write alot?
 
I feel that these poems are amazing! I undersatnd very much where you are coming from. now i am not fully deaf, well i am deaf in my right in hard of hearing in my left.
 
These are actually very good...thks!...I have a few that I've written myself and will post later....
 
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