The Healthy Cripple Poem by Austin Terando

There once was a young boy
He was due Christmas Eve
But rules he did destroy
Because he was naive
In school he wandered round and round
Searching for a place to fit
But that welcome was never found
Oh, how this boy longed to quit
'If only I could be like you
My problems would be no more
I would be one part of the crew
And I'll never be ignored! '
Too bad he was born a defect
'Special' is just a word
To alleviate and protect
Feelings of the absurd
When he reads this poem he thinks about
His state, his life, his place
And then he wants to just cry and shout
'World, I am a disgrace! '
At night the darkness sees him weep
He runs for everybody's sake
To hide he puts himself to sleep
For better he will never wake