I know my friend Tom
Isn’t “wheelchair bound”—
A book has a binding
And when he, Tom,
Loans me money
Our repayment
Is binding…
I write sometimes
In third person plural
When I mean
Myself, I want
The maximus
Of private selves
To be inclusive
When I say
For instance,
“I am blind”
Or “I can’t see.”
We say Tom
Is a “user”
Of wheelchairs,
He’s vigorous,
And I am a user
Of guide dogs.
We are customers.
We pass money
Back and forth.
We move together
Past the houses
They’re starting to build
At the outskirts
Of town, houses
That are dun-colored
And unfinished.
Someone has written
“Make Love Not War”
On the front
Of a future dream house
And Tom says “Let’s be makers
And not users”
And this is
Almost binding
But there are no curb cuts
Yet
In this part of town.
S.K.
Planet of the Blind 
Thank you. This came at the perfect time for me, during an intense online debate about why the phrase “confined to a wheelchair” isn’t the perfect phrase to describe someone like me.
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Stephen, you and your work are amazing. I’m so looking forward to meeting you at our Poet’s Dinner in Iowa City Saturday night. I’ll be running your “Basho and the Crickets” poem you wrote for Riehlife that day.
Janet Riehl
http://www.riehlife.com
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Wonderful, truly wonderful. I envy your command and use of the English language. Is there any way with the current state of technology to have your voice on this blog. I can only imagine how much more powerful your poetry would be. It is like reading a song but not hearing the music. Beautiful yes but not soaring to what it could and should be.
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