Albert Poem by Walterrean Salley

From inside my home,
I could hear a voice in the street.
"Twas unfamiliar.
A loud, slurred, whiny sound—.
Like a drunkard, trying to sing.
The nearer it got,
The more curious I was.

In a flash, I was on my feet
And peering through the window.
Ahhhhhh. I sighed with relief.
‘Tis Albert: one of the neighbors.

Albert was a young man—
Battling Cerebral Palsy (CP) .
The noise that I had heard,
Was him singing as he warbled—
Shuffling down the street.

His speech was slurred and constricted.
His limbs were somewhat contorted.
He stumbled along.

Then suddenly
(Though I couldn‘t understand his words) ,
His song was sweet.
I felt genuine joy beaming from him.
And I thought to myself: if Albert could sing,
Then I didn't have an excuse not to sing.
It made me want to croon along.

The disease eventually claimed him,
But not before he became
One of the greatest 'inspirations' in my life.
God rest his soul.
(2014 Revised version)